FAREWELL TO JOHN E. PETERSON

It came as a shock to most including this writer when Congressman John Peterson announced early last year he would not seek a seventh term in the House of Representatives. Mr. Peterson had served his district so capably he was never seriously challenged for the 5th Congressional District seat and there was no reason to believe the 2008 election would be any different. In fact, when considering his nationally publicized effort to promote exploration off the Continental Shelf and his fight to short-circuit the tolling of Interstate 80, one could make the argument he did his best work during his last term. Indeed, he was nearing the pinnacle of success in the eyes of many.

Certainly these two issues were not all that defined the man and his effort. He took on every issue affecting his district and literally made them his personal agenda. Because of his tireless effort he was respected nationwide. As a member of the National Forest Counties and Schools Coalition board based in California, I witnessed first hand the high regard Westerners had for Mr. Peterson. He was even a member of the Western Rural Caucus even though he was from Pennsylvania. This was due primarily to the fact that his rural district suffered from many of the same maladies rural folks out west experienced. He may even admit that many of his closest alleys in the House were western representatives. Without a doubt, the Congressman did not lack stature among his peers.

What impressed me the most about Mr. Peterson was his upbeat demeanor.  Regardless of how bleak the situation, he never allowed it to diminish his faith in the system. He was a staunch believer in debate, due in large part, to the fact that he always did his homework. Mr. Peterson was prepared to discuss any situation with anyone at anytime. Although he harbored strong opinions on most issues, he never closed the door to opposing ideas, which in my humble opinion, is the mark of a truly honorable and successful politician, a person who earns respect.

Mr. Peterson attended every annual membership meeting of the AFA during my tenure as executive director. He was forthright about were he stood on every issue whether it pleased the membership or not. He always responded to coalition problems, and quite often brokered solutions. In that regard alone, his shoes will be very difficult to fill.

I am sure I speak for the Board of the AFA as well as the entire membership, when I say thank you and best wishes to Congressman Peterson. We will truly miss your leadership and representation as well as your positive attitude. You along with your staff have served us diligently and we bid you a fond farewell.

 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO RETIRE

Jack Hedlund, the executive director of the Allegheny Forest Alliance, announced to the board at the fall meeting he intends to retire at the end to June 2009. He will have held the post for nine years, in addition to serving as Affiliations Subcommittee Chairman for two years.

The Executive Committee met recently to discuss pending leadership changes and to reflect on the future of the coalition. It was commonly understood that the coalition needs to continue advocating for the interests of school districts and townships, and will seek applicants for the executive director’s position. Anyone interested in applying for the position should submit a resume and letter of application to Mrs. Sandra Chlopecki, Superintendent of Schools for the Kane Area School District, and current president of the Board. Her work address is 400 West Hemlock Avenue, Kane, PA 16735-1644.

Qualifications for the position are minimal. The executive director serves as the chief advocate for the membership and performs the duties of the president on a day-to-day basis. If greater details are necessary, an applicant can call the AFA office and discuss the matter with Mr. Hedlund. It is, however, an advantage to be familiar with national forest policies and regulations, as well as the impact forest service related activities have upon the local economy generally, and upon the school districts and townships specifically. It is also necessary to become knowledgeable with the all the players in federal bureaucracy that are associated with forestry matters.

CHOICES ARE MADE

D-Day for selecting whether to opt-out of the new reauthorization of SRS was November 14. As it turned out, two counties remained in the program and two opted out. Nearly everyone expected Forest County to remain with the program and they did. The new funding formula significantly favored that county and it would have taken a “killer cut” on the part of the Forest Service to surpass the amount the county is scheduled to receive from the US Treasury over the next four years. The large percentage of national forest lands (41% of county acreage) and the negative per capita personal income (PCPI), 67th in the state, which is dead last, worked to their favor in the new funding formula.

Perhaps more surprising was the fact that Warren County chose to remain with the program by a split 2-1 vote. It appears several townships were upset with the decision although quite interestingly, the biggest single recipient of national forest shared receipts, the Warren County School District, cast what appears to have been the deciding vote, again by a split vote. For sure there is an element of comfort in knowing exactly what will be forthcoming over the next four years, even though the amount shrinks significantly each of the four years.

Another factor determining the decision to remain with SRS may have been the shortfall in the county’s 2009 budget. Title III of the SRS package offers some financial relief in the form of limited receipts even though the money has tight limitations on its use.

Both Elk and McKean Counties opted out of the program for at least the first two years, with the expectation forest receipts will compare closely with what they would have received under SRS. More importantly, by so doing, they are raising the level of expectation with regard to Forest Service activities. In fact, the two counties are relying on the Forest Service to fulfill their century-old compact to support the local economy by the actions.

The AFA will continue to advocate on behalf of all the school districts and townships to ensure the Forest Service does not abandon its responsibilities to support the culture and customs of the region. The livelihood of many local citizens depends on it. Since ANF lands make up over a quarter of the land in the four county region and are non-taxable, it is incumbent upon the Forest Service to do its part to support the region financially through active forest management.  

 NFCSC PERSPECTIVE

Generally speaking, most every NFCSC Board member was overjoyed by the passage of the Secure Rural Schools reauthorization.  In fact, every state but the so-called “transition states” benefit from the package. Some states, however, did far better than others. For instance, New Mexico’s split goes from $2.4M in 2006 to a four year average of $17.8M per year. Utah goes from $1.9M to a $14M average and Nevada from $.4M to a $5M average. It is important to note that not all the benefactors were western states. Michigan went from $.8M to an average of $5.8M, Wisconsin - $.6M to an average of $2.9M and Virginia - $.9M to an average of $2.4M.

Not so for PA and the other “transition states.” The Commonwealth’s total went from $6.5M in 2006 to an average of $4.8M. Oregon, the hardest hit state, went from $281M in 2006 to an average of $118M, Texas - $4.9M to $3.7M and South Dakota - $3.9M to $2.9M. Clearly, the Democratic leadership of Senators Harry Reid (NV), Jeff Bingaman (NM), Max Baucus (MT) and Carl Levin (MI) had a strong influence on the outcome of the bill.

A major focus of the Fall NFCSC Board meeting continued to be the future of national forested states. What about 2012 and beyond, after the recent SRS sunsets? Everyone agrees a more permanent solution is needed, but there is disagreement about what approach it should take. Westerners see salvation in eco-friendly projects such as bio-fuels, fire wise projects, and other “global warming” related efforts. Easterners are not quite as enamored with those solutions, and are still clinging to sustainable forestry as the focal point. 

It is important to note that any permanent solution in 2012 must contend with a new presidential election cycle as well as the suspension of PILT full-funding, which is currently tied to the SRS package. For most states PILT has a much greater economic impact than does SRS and therefore is of higher priority. Without a doubt these two factors will have a negative impact on any viable solution for rural forested counties.

FIGURES ARE IN FOR FY’08

In mid-January, the USFS published the scheduled payments for timber counties across the 41 states and Puerto Rico. The amount to be distributed to the Commonwealth is $5,000,365. The figure represents two types of payment. For Warren and Forest Counties, which house 51.8% of the ANF and both opted to remain with SRS, the subtotal due is $3,026,456, minus 8% for Title II, for a grand total of $2,784,428. The school district and townships within the two counties do not share Title III money either, which is reserved for counties under the act.  Title III funds for the two counties amounts to just under $195,000. The school district and townships split the remaining $2,589, 518.

Subtracting the amount due Warren and Forest Counties from the total state payment of $5,000,365 leaves $2,215,937 for Elk and McKean Counties, which opted to return to the traditional 25% payments. Elk and McKean Counties house 48.2% of the ANF. When put into perspective, the seven year rolling average of 25% payments that determine the amount to be paid to all four counties, provided they all opted for that form of payment, would have totaled $4,597,380.

Running the numbers for school districts and townships per county comes out roughly as follows. For Warren County, the school district will receive approximately $776,000 and the townships will share approximately $653,000.  The numbers for Forest County are $598,000 vs. $562,000. For Elk County they are $501,000 each and for McKean County they are $615,000 vs. $600,000.

As predicted, staying with SRS for the first two years of the initiative would benefit all four counties financially. However, the last two years of the reauthorization will not do so. Unfortunately, the law requires counties to remain in the program once they opt in.

One other footnote, the scheduled payment for SRS excludes Title II money, which is to be used for the development of Resource Advisory Committees, also known as RACs. Provided either or both Warren and Forest Counties set up RACs approved by the Secretary of Agriculture, together they could be entitled an additional $240,000 for the functioning of those committees.

Provided this rough analysis is correct, the projection indicated last Fall regarding pending payments would be respectably close to what has finally been reported. We will not know for sure, however, until the local Forest Service releases the actual figures to each school district and township.

AFA ANNUAL MEETING DELAYED

The annual AFA membership meeting, which has been traditionally held in mid-January, has been delayed. Each year the meeting features a review of federal governmental activities by the congressman from the 5th Congressional District.  To date that person has been John Peterson. He honored the membership consistently over the years with his take on the state of the union.

As you know, Congressman Peterson chose not to seek re-election. His replacement is Representative Glenn Thompson, a Republican from Center County. Being new to the scene, Congressman Thompson just took office in mid January and has only recently put together a schedule.

In addition to Congressman Thompson, invitations have been extended to state Assemblymen Matt Gabler and Marty Causer and Assemblywoman Kathy Rapp, all of whom represent the ANF region to some extent. State Senator Joe Scarnati has also been invited. The ANF supervisor, Leanne Marten will also be available to share her perspective and expectations for the coming year.

The date set for the annual meeting is Thursday, February 19 at 7:00 PM in the Kane Area High School Auditorium. All members of the coalition are encouraged to attend and are welcome to bring a guest. The meeting is closed to the general public.

As a result of the delayed annual meeting, the winter AFA Board meeting, normally held in February, has been cancelled. The next regularly scheduled board meeting will be the Spring meeting, tentatively scheduled for May 12.