State Payments for Fiscal Year 2008: County-level Distributions

Updated February 11, 2009

View Report 10-3,  a spreadsheet showing fiscal year 2008 Secure Rural Schools title I and title III payments to states and special acts payments showing county shares.  Report updated February 2, 2009.

View Report  18-1, a spreadsheet showing fiscal year 2008 payments for Secure Rural Schools title I and title III and funds held by Forest Service for approved title II projects. Report dated February 2, 2009.

To implement the reauthorized Secure Rural Schools Act, the Forest Service requested states and counties to elect either to receive a share of the 25-percent rolling average payment or to receive a share of the Secure Rural Schools State payment in November 2008 (county elections).Under certain circumstances described in the Act, a county electing to receive a share of the State payment also was requested to allocate between 15 to 20-percent of its share for one or more of the following purposes: projects under Title II of the Act; projects under Title III; or the Treasury of the United States (county allocations).

The new law has significant changes related to elections and allocation.  These new rules are explained elsewhere in the Election and Allocation Guidelines.  To ensure there were no errors in elections and allocations made by counties and transmitted by states, the Forest Service requested that the states and counties confirm or correct the county elections and the county allocations by December 12, 2008.

The Act requires each participating county to allocate its share of the State payment among titles I, II and III by Setember 30 each year using an election form to submit the information to the Forest Service Albuquerque Service Center.

The Forest Service processed payments to 41 states by January 15, 2009.  These payments are the sum of the amounts elected by each eligible county within the state to receive either a share of the state’s 25% 7-year rolling average payment or a share of the State payment using the new formula in the Act.  “Report 10-3, Forest Service fiscal year 2008 payments (county share) January 12, 2009” displays the payments made to states and information for each eligible county.

The amounts shown for the 25% 7-year rolling average payment and the title I portion of the State payment must be used for roads and schools in the manner provided for by state statute. If a county has elected to allocate a portion of its share of the State payment for county projects under title III of the Act, that amount must be transferred to the county.  Title III funds may not be used for roads and schools and are not subject to the same state distribution that applies to title I funds or the 25% 7-year rolling average payments.  Each state and county is accountable for the proper use of funds under the Single Audit Act, if applicable.

Title II funds are not shown in Report 10-3.  Title II funds are held in Forest Service accounts for projects recommended by Secure Rural Schools resource advisory committees (RACs) and approved by the Forest Service.  Title II projects generally occur on national forests or, in some cases, on nearby lands and benefit the health of watersheds and ecosystems on national forests.

In lieu of a share of a State payment determined by the formula in the reauthorized Act, an eligible county in California, Louisiana, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington will receive a share of a transition payment that ramps down from fiscal years 2008 through 2010. These states, and counties, will receive the formula payment in 2011.

Report  10-3 also shows payment for “special acts.”  In Arkansas, this is payment required by Public Law 100-446 (Smoky Quartz); in Minnesota it includes payment required by 16 USC 577 (Boundary Waters); in Washington it includes payment required by Public Law 100-638 (Quinault.)

View Report 10-3, Forest Service fiscal year 2008 Secure Rural Schools title I and title III payments to states and special acts payments showing county shares.  Report updated February 2, 2009.

View Report 18-1, showing fiscal year 2008 payments for Secure Rural Schools title I and title III and funds held by Forest Service for approved title II projects. Report dated February 2, 2009.