Congressmen push for support of forest management legislation

Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) recently led a group of legislators who pushed for support of legislation that would lead to more state and local participation in forest management.

Duffy led a bipartisan group of 28 congressmen who signed a letter to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairwoman Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Ranking Member Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) that called for support of forest management legislation.

The congressmen noted measures approved in the farm bill like permanent renewal and nationwide expansion of the Good Neighbor Authority, reauthorization of stewardship contracting and streamlined forest management and timber sales.

Still, the legislators said, further steps are required.

“The overall health of our national forests is integrally tied with the industries that rely on this resource…,” the legislators said. “The U.S. Forest Service must continue to make a concerted effort to meet timber sale goals, and Congress should continue to advance reforms to assist in this effort.”

Timber harvests in national forests are down 80 percent over the last 30 years, the legislators said. The U.S. Forest Service once averaged more than $1 billion in revenues annually, but it now spends $2 for every $1 it produces.

“Unfortunately, forest fires continue to threaten and destroy our national forests, threatening our water supplies and wasting valuable resources that could be salvaged through improved management,” the legislators said.

Sixty-five million acres of the National Forest System are at high or very high risk of catastrophic wildfires. Invasive species also cripple forest health at a cost of approximately $138 billion per year, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The congressmen called on Landrieu and Murkowksi to support legislation that increases state and local participation in forest management, streamlines timber sales and expedites access to salvage damaged timber following natural disasters.