The citizens of the United States are amid the decision-making process that is unfolding to elect our next president. There is one nonpartisan issue critically important to residents of Western states that none of the candidates are focused on: stewardship of our public lands and restoring them to good health.

Forty-seven percent of the 11 Western states, including New Mexico, is public land managed by the federal government. These lands surround rural communities full of knowledge and innovation that is underutilized because of declining federal investment in public-land management. To change course, candidates for president must commit to stewardship and restoration of our public lands in a collaborative manner that involves our communities and is accountable to positive outcomes for the land.

Decades of mismanagement and compounding factors have left our national forests in poor condition. For example, a century of fire suppression has helped turn Western forests into dysfunctional landscapes prone to more extreme and far-ranging fires than historically experienced. While the causes and role of fire within ecological systems are more complex than this generalized view, the fact is that more forest land has burned in the last decade than in any 10-year period since record keeping began in 1960. These wildfires are also consuming the U.S. Forest Service budget, as wildland fire management has increased from 13 to 45 percent of that budget over the last 18 years.

Our next president has a chance to reverse this trend, as does Congress. Federal forest policy has evolved positively in some ways, such as through the Collaborative Forest Restoration Program for multi-stakeholder restoration projects in New Mexico, but restoring our forests will require broader changes in the way we manage them and spend our tax dollars. Unfortunately, President Bush is heading in the wrong direction by proposing large cuts to the 2009 U.S. Forest Service budget.

Instead, highest priority should be given to policies that support the comprehensive restoration and stewardship of our nation's forests in a manner that strengthens and leverages adjacent rural communities, workforces, and economies-policies that allow both our forests and rural communities to thrive rather than barely survive.

We must reverse the trend of declining federal funds for programs that improve forest and watershed conditions and fish and wildlife habitat. Increased federal investment is also needed in the National Fire Plan's Community Assistance Program to encourage grassroots solutions to reducing wildfire threats and to increase interagency and community coordination. Additional funding needed to support business training, technical assistance, and grants for forest-based businesses will stimulate innovation, leverage private investment, and grow the tax base in rural communities — and ensure we have a skilled workforce to conduct on-the-ground restoration activities.

More is needed than increased funding, though; the way it is spent can be improved, too. The Forest Service can do more to design work contracts that utilize and build the capacity of local contractors and enterprises. Supporting development of local, sustainable forest products and restoration jobs is critically important for restoring our forests.

Increased investment in public lands stewardship can also help combat climate change since resilient forests and fewer extreme fires mean more carbon sequestered in our forests and less in the atmosphere.

With leadership from elected officials to reverse the decline in public lands stewardship, we might ultimately be able to restore our forests and the multitude of values and services they provide us, reduce spending on fire suppression in the long run, reduce the threat to life and property, benefit local communities and leave a better legacy for the future.

Howard Gross is the executive director of the Forest Guild in Santa Fe.