ESFPA E-News

USFWS Proposes to Tighten ESA Rules

The US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposed three modifications to federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) standards in an attempt to address what the agency describes as weakened protections implemented by the previous Administration. 

The proposals seek to:

• Specify that the agency may not consider economic impacts when making reclassification, listing and delisting decisions
• Reinstate the blanket 4(d) rule while retaining the option for the Service to adopt a species-specific 4(d) rule
• And revise the interagency consultation process

ESFPA is coordinating with some of our national affiliates (Hardwood Federation, Forest Resource Association and NAFO) on comments on the proposals, which are due in late August. 

American Forest Work in MD and PA on Forest Carbon

In Maryland and Pennsylvania, new data from American Forests makes the case for various climate-smart forest management practices and has helped identify strategies for state agencies to increase forest carbon uptake and storage. The goal is for states to use the data from these models to protect forests from future climate impacts, help forest landowners implement climate-smart and financially beneficial practices, and inform forest management and policy. 

"Good forest management is good carbon management in my book", says Shawn Lehman, program manager for the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry’s resource inventory monitoring section. Kendall Delyser, the Director of Climate Science from American Forests states that “Forests have to be part of a climate solution. They’re not the only solution — we can’t get to all of our emissions-reduction goals on the back of forests alone — but we can’t get there without them.” 

New management approaches could result in a significant increase in carbon sequestration by 2030-up to 29 percent on Maryland forests, and 38 percent in Pennsylvania. Some of the practices raise concerns, and some could be valuable to New York’s working forests. While New York is not on their short list for next states, it could be soon. 

Federal DOL Rules Update

Last week, the Federal Department of Labor (DOL) said it is still planning to complete a final rule on independent contractors. The DOL missed the May target to publish a rule on independent contractor classification. The agency now intends to publish the final rule in August. This rule could negatively impact ESFPA members as nearly every sector in the wood supply chain depends on independent contractors to perform work. 

The Federal DOL additionally plans to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking that would make more workers eligible for overtime pay in August 2023. A rule that proposes to create a national “heat” standard to safeguard workers from working in intense heat has been pushed to a new target of March 2024. FRA commented on this rule in January 2022, recommending that states should be responsible for establishing regulations to protect workers from heat-related injuries.

Take Classes at This Year's Woodsmen's Field Days

There are 2 classes being hosted this year by Rick Turk Tree Service during the 76th Annual Woodsmen's Field Days! The classes are "First Aid, CPR & AED Training" as well as "Stop the Bleed" and are being held at Adirondack Senior High School on August 18th.

More information below: