Forest Stewardship Program Federal Investment Areas (Image Service)

With the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Bill), Congress tasked states and territories to craft assessments of the forests within their boundaries and develop strategies to address threats and forest management opportunities. Now known as Forest Action Plans, these assessments and strategies provide an analysis of forest conditions and trends in the state and delineate priority forest landscape areas. They offer long-term plans for investing state, federal, and other resources where they can be most effective in achieving national conservation goals by addressing the State and Private Forestry (SPF) national priorities and objectives: 1) Conserve working forest lands, 2) Protect forests from harm, and 3) Enhance public benefits from trees and forests. Administered by the US Forest Service and implemented by State forestry agencies, the SPF Forest Stewardship Program encourages private forest landowners to manage their lands using professionally prepared Forest Stewardship plans. Participation in the Forest Stewardship Program requires that states and territories submit a raster dataset of priority areas specific to the Program - aligned with priority landscapes identified in Forest Action Plans - called Forest Stewardship Priority Areas, where they will focus their Program delivery efforts. Program performance measures include acres covered by active Forest Stewardship plans that are within Forest Stewardship Priority Areas State and territory Forest Stewardship Priority Areas data set submissions are valid for up to 10 (ten) years, but must be reviewed every 5 years and may be updated as frequently as annually.根据2008年《食品、保护与能源法案》（即2008年农业法案），美国国会要求各州及领地对辖区内森林开展评估，并制定策略以应对森林威胁、把握森林管理机遇。此类评估与策略现统称为森林行动计划（Forest Action Plans），其将分析各州的森林状况与发展趋势，并划定优先森林景观区域。该类计划还制定了长期资源投入规划，将州级、联邦及其他资源投向最能助力实现国家保护目标的领域，具体围绕州立与私有林业（State and Private Forestry, SPF）的国家优先事项与目标展开：1. 保护经营性林地；2. 防范森林遭受损害；3. 提升林木与森林为公众带来的福祉。 该项目由美国林务局（US Forest Service）主管、各州林业机构落地执行，旨在鼓励私有林地所有者采用专业编制的森林管护计划（Forest Stewardship Plan）开展林地管理。参与该森林管护计划要求各州及领地提交专属该计划的优先区域栅格数据集——此类优先区域需与森林行动计划中划定的优先景观区域相匹配，被称为森林管护优先区域（Forest Stewardship Priority Areas），各州及领地将以此作为计划推进的核心聚焦区域。 该计划的绩效评估指标包括位于森林管护优先区域内的有效森林管护计划所覆盖的林地面积。各州及领地提交的森林管护优先区域数据集有效期最长为10年，但需每5年接受一次审核，且可根据实际需求每年进行更新。