agencies and groups who 
can best support the 
achievement of particular 
goals or solution to problems 
are identified. Some of these 
program elements may not 
involve the State forestry 
organization directly, but 
they are important to the 
overall success of the total 
forestry effort. 
In the past, State 
policymakers had not looked 
at the roles of many State 
organizations in the context 
of the overall State economy. 
and social structure. The 
planning process provides 
an opportunity to establish 
clearly the relationships 
between the forest resources, 
the State forestry 
organization, and other areas 
such as State policies, 
taxation as it affects 
management and utilization, 
foreign trade, employment in 
service industries, housing 
costs, water and air quality, 
recreational values, etc. No 
longer are plans confined 
simply to the programs and 
budgets of the organization 
for day-to-day operations. In 
several States, the Governor’s 
involvement in the planning 
process has added strength 
and political credibility to the 
resulting plan. 
88 
These State plans are used 
as input for the national RPA 
Program, which is presented 
to Congress by the President 
with his statement of policy. 
Past administrations have 
made little use of the RPA 
Assessment and Program in 
preparing their budget 
requests, but despite this 
lack of influence on the Office 
of Management and Budget 
and the White House, RPA 
efforts have been useful to 
Congress and other 
interested persons in 
identifying the needs of the 
Nation. 
Environmental Programs 
State organizations have 
become involved in several 
regulatory programs, with 
responsibilities varying 
among States. With regard 
to water quality, State forestry 
organizations have 
participated in the 
development of Best 
Management Practices to 
protect water quality during 
forestry operations. This is a 
voluntary program, but 
oversight is provided by 
State personnel to assist in 
training loggers and others 
Carrying out on forest lands 
