Tongass National Forest

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Payments to States & Resource Advisory Committees

Issue

In October 2000, Congress passed Public Law 106-393, the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act of 2000 which stabilized federal payments to states for funding schools and roads. The law, referred to as Payments to States, changed the way the Forest Service returned a portion of its annual receipts to jurisdictions within national forest boundaries. The act was in effect for fiscal years 2001 through 2006. Under the act, the annual full payment amount to the state of Alaska for those fiscal years was roughly $9 million.

Background

For the period between fiscal years 2001 and 2006, instead of automatically receiving 25 percent of annual national forest receipts, affected boroughs in Alaska chose to receive a “full payment amount,” which was based on the average of the three highest payments made to the state between 1986 and 1999.

Between 80 and 85 percent of the full payment amount was distributed for schools and roads. The boroughs then decided how to allocate the remaining 15 to 20 percent to special projects in categories called Title II or Title III.

Three resource advisory committees (RACs) were established to make recommendations on how the Title II special project funds should be spent for Yakutat, Wrangell, Petersburg, and Ketchikan. Local elected officials in those four communities allocated over $2.5 million dollars to be invested in Title II projects near their communities. Over 50 projects have been approved and include watershed restoration, invasive species inventories, trail maintenance, and campground and recreation area restoration.

The focus of RAC efforts was to recommend widely supported projects for Title II funding to benefit the national forest and communities. The RACs solicited their communities for potential projects, then reviewed and recommended projects to the Tongass Forest Supervisor for Title II funding.

The remaining affected boroughs and communities elected to allocate their special projects funds to Title III projects. Title III projects were identified and approved directly by the borough and needed no resource advisory committee.

Current Situation

As of mid-December 2006, the Secure Rural Schools act has not been reauthorized or extended. If the act is not extended, payments to states will be determined under the 25 percent fund approach for fiscal year 2007.

Under the 25 percent approach, 25 percent of receipts from revenue-generating activities on the national forest, such as timber sales, mineral developments, and special land use permits, are returned to the state for distribution to the boroughs where the national forests are located. Payments to the State of Alaska based solely on the 25 percent approach would likely result in a substantially reduced payment than the amount received under the Secure Rural Schools Act.

More Information

Jan Lerum, Forest Management, Alaska Region, (907) 586-7915

For information about state distribution of funds to boroughs and communities, contact Bill Rolfzen, State of Alaska, at (907) 465-4733.

Current as of December 2006

USDA Forest Service - Tongass National Forest Accessibility Statement
Last Modified: February 15, 2007