Overview

The National Association of State Foresters is comprised of the directors of state and territorial forestry agencies and the District of Columbia. NASF seeks to advance sustainable forestry, conservation, and protection of forestlands and their associated resources.

State Forestry partners and the United States Forest Service provide immeasurable value to the citizens of their states and territories. Forestry agencies provide a wide array of services ranging from the prevention and protection of assets and lives from wildfire to the conservation of key watersheds that provide source drinking water. Other services include urban and community forestry, protection from forest health issues, consultation to private landowners on proper land management and the creation of jobs. With increased pressures on funding, NASF, their partners and the USFS initiated this performance measures project to prioritize the most important “stories” to tell that illustrate the immense value these agencies provide to citizens and wildlife through the conservation of key habitats.

The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) selected Timmons Group to assist in the process of defining State Forestry Performance Measures. The project worked to define a concise set of national priority performance measures and is supported by a partnership with the USDA Forest Service State & Private Forestry and NASF. Performance measures are tied to each state’s Forest Action Plan and reported in similar manner to demonstrate the value of trees and forests to the nation.

This project involved a review of best practice performance measures, intense stakeholder engagement, and the development of key metrics that are achievable by all partners. This project also defined the technical delivery solution for displaying measure data to ensure full transparency into work accomplished towards these measures.