44 



would be worked out, giving that customer a better feeling about 

 the services his Government provides him, and not putting him be- 

 tween a rock and a hard place. We also feel that conservation dis- 

 tricts should be specifically mentioned in that bill for their role in 

 plan development and approval. 



Those are all the comments I was prepared to make. Thank you 

 for the opportunity to testify. 



[The prepared statement of Mr. Talbert appears at the conclusion 

 of the hearing.] 



Mr. Johnson. Thank you, Mr. Talbert. 



And last, Mr. Garner. 



STATEMENT OF JAMES W. GARNER, VIRGINIA STATE FOR- 

 ESTER, AND PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE 

 FORESTERS 



Mr. Garner. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My name is Jim Gamer. 

 I am the State forester of Virginia but current president of the Na- 

 tional Association of State Foresters. We appreciate your willing- 

 ness to hear the concerns of the National Association of State For- 

 esters regarding the impact of nonpoint source pollution and wet- 

 lands protection. 



The National Association of State Foresters represent the direc- 

 tors of the State forestry agencies across the Nation, including 

 three territories. We are responsible by State law for the protection 

 of 74 percent of this Nation's forest land. And we provide technical 

 service to millions of nonindustrial private forest landowners. We 

 are also responsible for the delivery system of several Federal pro- 

 grams, including forest stewardship and the forest stewardship in- 

 centive program. And every day we are working with the private 

 landowners and the producers back home to nurture this vast for- 

 est resource to meet the needs of our society in an environmentally 

 sound manner. 



We believe that good forest stewardship through sound practices 

 is a critical solution to achieving and maintaining clear and clean 

 water. The forested watersheds are a primary source of high qual- 

 ity water. 



The State foresters have been proactive in developing and imple- 

 menting State programs for nonpoint source pollution over the last 

 20 years. Currently, 44 States have active programs, most of which 

 are nonregulatory. We have been successful through education, in- 

 stream monitoring, and primarily one-on-one assistance in the 

 woods with the landowners and the producers. And we can docu- 

 ment that we're getting pretty close to 90 percent compliance in 

 sediment reduction and a high level of commitment from the 

 loggers and the landowners who are willing and want to do the 

 right thing. We have done this with limited resource since the 

 State foresters receive hardly any of the section 3 19 money. 



The State foresters however find ourselves in somewhat of a di- 

 lemma. We strongly support and actively work for the protection 

 and enhancement of the Nation's water and wetlands, yet we have 

 some real concerns about how some of the proposed legislation will 

 direct us to reach our goal. Forestry activities have been divined 

 as a new source of nonpoint pollution and this troubles us because 

 all of the proposed legislation directs EPA to development manage- 



