As an organization that was founded to advocate policy initiatives that address our member’s economic challenges, ensure their property rights, and promote the vitality of forest landownership, our policy priorities are central to FLA’s purpose.

We work diligently with policymakers at the national level to foster a strong business environment and balanced regulatory climate for the benefit of the families who own and manage forestland.

Regulatory policies that impose undue economic burdens on forest landowners.

Although specific policy issues facing forest landowners have evolved since our founding, today’s economic challenges still require FLA’s patient attention to our members’ needs and passionate advocacy on their behalf.

Policy Priorities

FLA’s Policy Achievements in 2017

2017 was full of pro-growth victories for family forest landowners. Despite a new administration that promoted a favorable policy agenda, we still had to tackle lingering regulatory and tax issues left over from the Obama Administration. Through identifying and anticipating policy obstacles and opportunities, FLA’s advocacy resulted in major wins in several key issues.

Big wins for family forest landowners in 2017 were:

• Passage of the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act
• Preservation of Timber Tax Provisions
• Withdrawal of Obama proposed changes to the IRS Section 2704
• Department of Commerce and International Trade Commission ruling and determination that the American lumber industry faced material injury due to subsidies on Canadian softwood lumber
• 6-month extension on the final determination to list the Louisiana Pinesnake under the Endangered Species Act
• USFWS development of a Candidate Conversation Agreement with Assurances for the Louisiana Pinesnake.

We are working closely with the current administration to ensure positive and productive regulatory conditions that guarantee vibrant, sustainable markets for our members’ working forests.