Here are a few key political actions that have helped advance forest conservation efforts:
- The Endangered Species Act of 1973 gave the government power to protect threatened and endangered species and their habitats. This has been used to protect many forest species and designate critical forest habitat areas.
- The National Forest Management Act of 1976 instituted more detailed planning and public involvement in management of National Forests to balance timber production with other uses like recreation and wildlife habitat.
- The Roadless Area Conservation Rule created in 2001 bans road construction and timber harvesting on 58 million acres of inventoried roadless areas in National Forests. This protects many untouched forest ecosystems.
- The Lacey Act passed in 1900 and amended over the years (especially in 2008) bans trafficking of illegal timber and wildlife. This helps combat illegal logging globally.
- The US and EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) processes work to prevent illegal timber imports through voluntary partnership agreements and trade regulations.
- Financial incentive programs like the Conservation Reserve Program provide payments to private landowners to take sensitive lands like forests out of production and manage them in an eco-friendly way.
- International accords like REDD+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) provide developing nations financial incentives to protect standing forests.
- Creation of protected areas like national parks, wilderness areas, and national monuments limits commercial use and preserves forestland. Expansion of these programs has protected significant forest acreages.
The combination of laws, regulations, financial incentives, and protected areas has helped better manage and conserve both public and private forest lands over recent decades. Continued political support is important for ongoing forest conservation.