Pacific Islands Forestry Committee

The Pacific Islands Forestry Committee (PIFC) is comprised of forestry leaders from the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands, including:

Territory of American Samoa
Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands
Federated States of Micronesia
Territory of Guam
State of Hawai‘i
Republic of Marshall Islands
Republic of Palau

The USDA Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Region and Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry are also members of the PIFC.

The mission of the PIFC is to develop well-informed approaches to managing natural resources and forestry issues that address the needs of the forests¹ of Hawai’i and the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI).

This approach informs the Council of Western State Foresters (CWSF) and Western Forestry Leadership Coalition (WFLC) and ensures that these entities present a unified voice and compelling actions to policymakers, the National Association of State Foresters (NASF), and the Washington Office of the USDA Forest Service (Forest Service), on behalf of the State of Hawai’i, Territories of Guam and American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau with their unique forestry management issues.

In addition, the PIFC provides a forum for technology transfer, training, research, learning, and cultural information exchange among USAPI, WFLC, CWSF, NASF, and Forest Service members on topics that concern forests, livelihoods, and environmental impacts in the region.

Learn more in the PIFC one pager.

¹Encompasses urban forests, agroforests, mangroves, tropical forests, cultural forests, medicinal forests, native forests, wildlands, planted forests, jungles, wetlands, savannas, and all other forests the committee deems relevant to their body of work.

Leadership Team

The 2025 leadership team includes:

Chair: Christine Fejeran (Guam)
Vice Chair: Jenny Grimm (Hawai‘i)
Secretary: Randon Jack (RMI)
Past Chair: Marlyter Silbanuz (FSM)
Sherry Hazelhurst, USDA Forest Service
WFLC Staff Liaison: Sara Goodwin

Highlights

WFLC worked with the Pacific Islands to develop communications materials. This project, with support from the USDA Forest Service, brought forth the development of communications materials for each Pacific Island. The foundation of the project focused on using content and topics from the State Fact Sheets to build additional products and increase communications capacity for the islands. To view a sampling of the communications products created, visit https://bit.ly/pifc_comms.

Blog Posts

December 2024 - Highlights from the 2024 PIFC Executive Committee Meeting
January 2024 - PIFC Workshop: Collaboration & Cohesion for Professional Development
August 2023 - Inside American Samoa’s Forestry Programs: A Staff Member’s Perspective
December 2022 - Pacific Island Foresters and Partners Gather in Guam

Contact

If you wish to contact a member of the Pacific Islands Forestry Committee, please contact Sara Goodwin.

PIFC StoryMap - Water, Wildfire, & Forestry

The PIFC in cooperation with WFLC and the Timmons Group developed an online interactive StoryMap to demonstrate the value of forestry related work in the Pacific Islands. The featured stories, focused on the key themes of water and fire, demonstrate the unique nature of island forestry and highlight outcomes resulting from investments into forestry in the Pacific Islands.

View the StoryMap.