Richmond, VA – July 29, 2015 – The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) recently selected Timmons Group to assist in the process of defining State Forestry Performance Measures.  The project will work to define a concise set of national priority performance measures and is supported by a partnership with the USDA Forest Service State & Private Forestry and NASF.  Performance measures will be tied to each state’s Forest Action Plan and reported in similar manner to demonstrate the value of trees and forests to the nation. 

The National Association of State Foresters is comprised of the directors of state and territorial forestry agencies and the District of Columbia. NASF seeks to advance sustainable forestry, conservation, and protection of forestlands and their associated resources.

State Forestry partners and the USFS provide immeasurable value to the citizens of their states and territories.  Forestry agencies provide a wide array of services ranging from the prevention and protection of assets and lives from wildfire to the conservation of key watersheds that provide source drinking water.  Other services include urban and community forestry, protection from forest health issues, consultation to private landowners on proper land management and the creation of jobs.  With increased pressures on funding, NASF, their partners and the USFS initiated this performance measures project to prioritize the most important “stories” to tell that illustrate the immense value these agencies provide to citizens and wildlife through the conservation of key habitats. 

This project will involve a review of best practice performance measures, intense stakeholder engagement, and the development of key metrics that are achievable by all partners.  This project will also define the technical delivery solution for displaying measure data to ensure full transparency into work accomplished towards these measures.

“We have a very long history of supporting both State and Federal forestry partners,” said Lowell Ballard, Director of Geospatial Solutions of Timmons Group. “We are very pleased to have the opportunity to help NASF, their partners and the USFS in this important project.  All public entities, not just forestry, are under immense pressure to provide a better sense of priority and transparency into the work they perform.  This project will emphasize “achievability” and ensure that measures developed, while not easy, will be something that all partners can accomplish.”

“NASF has worked over the past several years to create performance measures that will tell compelling stories about the value of forestry, said Jay Farrell, Executive Director of NASF. “We are pleased to be working with the USFS State and Private Forestry and Timmons Group on this effort.”

About Timmons Group
Timmons Group is a leading provider of geospatial, information architecture and engineering services focusing on developing intuitive, enterprise geospatial web applications, highly-usable, cross-device mobile applications, and integrated, geospatially-enabled enterprise solutions. Timmons Group develops innovative solutions across multiple platforms, including web, web-based mobile / HTML5, and native mobile operating systems.  Timmons Group is a privately held ENR 500 company and maintains a strong business partner relationship with Esri. Timmons Group has been a recipient of both the Esri Business Partner of the Year award and the Esri Foundation Partner of the Year award. For more information, visit www.timmonsgis.com.

Media contact:
Tim Klabunde
Director of Marketing
tim.klabunde@timmons.com