Today the House of Representatives passed the Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2015 (HR 2647), which includes important forest reforms introduced by Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke to encourage local collaboration on timber projects, curb frivolous lawsuits, and prevent catastrophic wildfires. The House voted in favor of the reforms with several Democrats joining the majority of Republicans to support the measure. More than 170 national labor, Native American, conservation, local government, sportsman's, and timber groups submitted comments in support of the law including the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes, Montana Wood Products Association, Montana Association of Counties, Montana Loggers, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and former Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth and Seeley Lake Ranger Tim Love.
"Today is a good day; after more than a decade of inaction, real forestry reform for Montana is within reach," said Rep. Zinke. "After talking with folks from every side of the issue -- conservation, Forest Service, loggers, scientists, local governments, outdoor recreation representatives, etc. -- it became clear that incentivizing and rewarding the collaborative process, where local groups work together for a timber project, is the best path forward because it puts Montana in the driver's seat, not the out-of-state special interests. Responsible timber harvesting is good for the economy and helps prevent catastrophic wildfires. This reform package will mitigate and prevent future catastrophic fires by expediting salvage and thinning projects. As we have already seen at Glacier Rim, this fire season is going to be very active and has the potential to hundreds of thousands of acres of our cherished forests. I am thankful to my colleagues in the House for their support and happy to have a steadfast advocate for our forests in Senator Daines as my partner. I look forward to working with both Senators Daines and Tester to advance these important reforms through Congress and to the President's desk."
Senator Steve Daines is also leading on the issue in the Senate and has expressed support for Zinke's reforms: "I'm encouraged that the House of Representatives has passed critically-needed legislation to improve the health of forests and create good-paying jobs across Montana," said Senator Daines. "Representative Zinke's provisions to discourage litigation and protect Montana-made collaborative projects reflect what I've heard repeatedly from Montanans and are vital to restoring active management. In the Senate, I'll continue working for similar reforms to make our forests more resilient and create more good-paying jobs. With Montana's forest communities needlessly struggling and the threat of catastrophic fire only growing worse, I will work vigorously to get forest reform legislation signed into law as quickly as possible."
Last week, Rep. Zinke toured the Glacier Rim fire in Flathead National Forest which is on the site of a 2003 blaze. Due to the abundance of dead logs and thick underbrush, coupled with dense snags that made it unsafe for firefighters, the blaze spread quickly. The dead timber and thick brush in the area had not been properly salvaged due to threat of lawsuit. The Resilient Federal Forest Act of 2015 would expedite salvage projects like this to prevent future fires and mitigate damage.
"Despite being in a sea of timber, Lincoln County's unemployment rate is above 10 percent, thanks in large part to lack of management on our federal forests and expensive lawsuits against collaborative timber projects that have hurt our local communities," said Lincoln County Commissioner Greg Larson. "I am confident Congressman Zinke's forest reforms will help end the costly lawsuits and also put people back to work. Growing our local economy will provide more revenue for infrastructure, education and other public projects that are critical to our communities." Lincoln County's unemployment rate is 10.3 percent.
"The Kootenai Tribe believes this legislation is a step in the right direction toward effective forest management," remarked Gary Aitken Jr., Chairman of the Kootenai Tribe. "The Act's support for collaboration and the need for regulatory flexibility will result in more resources spent on restoring our forests and improving forest health. The Tribal forest provisions of the Act are another tool we can use to protect and enhance the fish, wildlife and berries our citizens have relied on since time immemorial."
In Western Montana, areas like Lincoln County suffer from double digit unemployment, yet they have some of the richest forests in the state. This is, in part, because frivolous lawsuits from special interests continually challenge responsible timber harvesting, costing local economies hundreds of jobs and millions in revenue and tax dollars, according to the University of Montana.
"Congressman Zinke's forest reforms will make a big difference for Montana's timber and wood products workers and change the lives of folks who have come on hard times due to lack of management on federal grounds" said Angelo Ververis, general manager of TriCon Timber in St. Regis, the largest family owned saw mill in Montana. "There are plenty of folks in Western Montana who are ready, willing and able to work, but because federal timber harvests are often tied up in lawsuits and red tape, mills like TriCon aren't able to hire more workers. We live and work in a county that is 87% federally managed and we are grateful that Congressman Zinke has taken this controversial issue on and truly cares and is willing to fight for all the hard working folks in our industry and our community. I am hopeful Senators Tester and Daines will do everything they can to build support for these reforms in the Senate so we can grow our family mill and put more of our friends and neighbors back to work."
"This is a good first step for much-needed forestry reform and management," said David Allen, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation president and CEO. "We want to thank Rep. Westerman, Rep. Zinke and other members of Congress for passing the measure. This bill would allow proper management of our forests--which has been prevented by a seemingly endless string of frivolous lawsuits. In the end, habitat for elk and other wildlife as well as overall forest health will be greatly improved."
Montana leads the nation in collaborative timber projects that are litigated, in large part because there is no risk to groups who try to stop responsible timber harvesting. Zinke's reforms would require litigants who oppose collaborative projects to post a bond when filing a lawsuit that is equal to the cost that the Forest Service pays to defend the lawsuit; this is identical to the longstanding rule that timber companies must post bonds. If a group wins their lawsuit, they get their money back. If they lose, they forfeit the bond to the Forest Service. This process is meant to discourage frivolous litigation which currently costs the Forest Service millions of dollars annually and halts legal and responsible projects like the Spotted Bear River (SBR) project in the Flathead.
Transcript
"As a fifth-generation Montanan, I grew up in timber country. Our mills and train yards were in full swing and visitors from around the world flocked to see Glacier Park. Revenues from the timber industry were re-invested in the community and conservation efforts of the Forest Service helped conservation efforts. In building a strong tourist economy and a strong timber economy are not mutually exclusive. That's why I strongly support the Resilient Federal Forest Act of 2015 and it does what it should do. It encourages local organizations to work together on collaborative projects and revitalize the economy. But not only that it revitalizes our forests.
Think about it. As we debate this bill today, there are two wildfires in my home state of Montana, just a few miles from where I grew up. And as of today, more than 3.9 million acres across our nation have burned in wildfires this year alone. That's larger than the entire state of Connecticut. We're on track for more than double if the conditions don't improve. Just last week, the Forest Service who I visited said we are in the perfect storm. In the words of former Chief of the Forest Service, Chief Bosworth, "we don't have a fire problem as much as we have a land management problem."
That's why this bill is so important. Last week, while traveling across my district, I toured the site of the Glacier Rim fire. It's burning the same ground that burned in 2003. I was told by people on the ground that the reason why this fire is burning is the Forest Service was not able to conduct a salvage operation for fear of lawsuits among other reasons, and those lawsuits left standing timber which cannot be addressed by crews, which only can be addressed by helicopters, and that's a million dollar project. And habitat, it is the member of the core grizzly habitat, it's not burn once but twice in 15 years. We need more scientists in the woods and less lawyers. I urge my colleagues to join me in a bipartisan effort to support this bill."
In addition to Missoula native and former Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth and 40-year Seeley Lake Ranger Tim Love, more than 170 sportsmen, conservation, local government and industry groups support the Resilient National Forests Act.