Vote expected on Sen. Zinke's forest management plan

| June 11, 2015 12:44 PM

Today the House Committee on Natural Resources voted in favor of Congressman Ryan Zinke’s forest reform legislation as part of a broader forestry bill,HR 2647 "The Resilient National Forests Act of 2015." Zinke introduced H.R. 2644, The National Forest Collaborative Incentive Act of 2015 late in the afternoon of Wednesday June 3^rd in a Natural Resources Committee hearing. The following afternoon, Rep. Bruce Westerman (Ark) re-introduced the Congressman’s bill as part of his larger forestry package. The larger bill is the collaboration of Reps. Zinke, Westerman, and McClintock (CA), and features Democratic co-sponsor Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ). Zinke’s bill aims to prevent wildfires, encourage collaborative projects in National Forests, improve conservation efforts, and discourage predatory litigation via a collection of reforms that require no new mapping, regulations nor added costs to the Forest Service or taxpayer, making the bill workable on day one. His reforms will only require bonds for litigants who chose not to participate in the collaborative process.

Rep. Zinke said: “Finally, real timber reform for Montana is within reach. Rural timber communities have seen their economies decimated in recent years largely due to frivolous litigation on timber sales; but thanks to these reforms, all that could change. Working together we were able to craft comprehensive legislation that encourages collaboration and addresses the most pressing issues facing our forests, wild fires and litigation, while also strengthening conservation and rehabitation efforts. I look forward to the upcoming vote on the House floor and am hopeful for bipartisan support in the Senate.”

The bill survived multiple assaults by members from states that do not have national forests, and it enjoys wide ranging support from conservation groups like the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Wild Turkey Foundation, Montana Loggers, local county commissioners and former Forest Service Chief Bosworth. Recently, the InterTribal Timber Council announced support for the bill (letter available).

Also, current Forest Service Chief Tidwell expressed optimism for the bill, writing: “The Forest Service is encouraged by many of the goals outlined within it and we look forward to working further with you and your staffs. As a general matter, the Forest Service welcomes legislation that incentivizes collaboration and expands the toolset we can use to complete critical work on our nation’s forests, without overriding environmental laws. It is encouraging that, unlike other recent forestry bills we have seen, this bill does not contain troublesome provisions such as those that would mandate harvest levels, require a new layer of zoning on the National Forests, or elevate one use over another on these multiple-use lands.”

Former Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth said, “Analysis paralysis has been a problem for the Forest Service for a long time. Legislation is needed to get the money and the people out on the ground restoring our forests rather than in the office, sitting behind a computer doing analysis and documentation that doesn't add to the quality of the projects. This bill is a good start and a great way to get the discussion going.”

Dave Schulz, Madison County Commissioner said, "I am very encouraged of efforts by Representative Zinke and members of the House to develop the National Forest Collaborative Incentive Act of 2015. This Act provides Forest managers and collaboratives working together the tools to successfully develop and implement projects that benefit the health of our severely impacted and under managed forests across the country. Implementation of this Act also helps local leaders such as myself protect the Health, Safety and Welfare of our citizens, a duty I am sworn to uphold!"

“Responsible forest stewardship in Montana is too important to leave to judicial digression,” said Keith Olson, Executive Director of the Montana Logging Association. “Congressman Zinke’s bill includes common sense reforms that strengthen collaborative projects against out of state litigants and helps protect our forests from wildfires. Montana Loggers are committed to responsible and sustainable timber harvests that build local economies; Rep Zinke’s reforms help us do just that.”

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For Immediate Release

June 4, 2015

Contact Heather Swift (202)225-3211

Ryan Zinke Pioneers Forest Reform

(WASHINGTON) June 4, 2015 – Yesterday Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke introduced sweeping forest reform legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. H.R. 2644, The National Forest Collaborative Incentive Act of 2015, is the product of years of research, testimony, collaboration and ideas from across the industry and political spectrum. The bill aims to prevent wildfires, encourage collaborative projects in National Forests, improve conservation efforts, and discourage predatory litigation via a collection of reforms that require no new mapping, regulations nor added costs to the Forest Service or taxpayer, making the bill workable on day one. These ideas are widely supported by industry and wildlife organizations, as well as conservation experts and local governments, including the National Wild Turkey Federation, Montana Loggers Association, former Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth, and several county commissioners including, John E. Prinkki (Carbon), Dave Schulz (Madison), James P.Hart, (Madison), Ron Nye (Madison).

“In Montana our land is our way of life: its beauty and bounty provide us with world-class recreation, hunting, fishing, natural resources and economic activity. However, too often outside forces and special interests get in the way of Montana conserving our land, developing our resources, and growing our communities,” said Rep. Zinke. “The National Forest Collaborative Incentive Act of 2015, will help address the two leading threats against our forests, predatory litigation and wildfires, without adding new regulations to communities and loggers or adding costs to taxpayers. By implementing common sense reforms to encourage collaboration on projects and discourage out of state special interests from waging war on Montana foresting communities, I am confident Montana can rebuild our timber industry and conserve our forests for generations to come.”

The bill also includes key reforms to:

Prevent catastrophic wildfires;
Incentivize collaborative agreements by streamlining regulatory processes and protect such agreements against predatory lawsuits;
Allow for new funding sources for Forest Service projects that doesn’t rely on federal tax dollars; and,
Modernize the Secure Rural Schools & Self-Determination Act (SRS) to grant local communities more control over their funds.

Background on Montana’s Timber Industry & Litigation

Montana’s timber industry is under a continual assault by excessive and predatory lawsuits funded by out of state special interests. This delays projects and costs local communities and taxpayers millions of dollars and hundreds of jobs. A recent study conducted by the University of Montana’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research found local communities bear the brunt of litigation of Forest Service timber sales, estimated around $10 million, in the form of lost jobs, labor income, and tax revenue.

According to the Montana Wood Products Association, timber harvests in Montana have dropped 80 percent over the past 25 years, and our annual output has still not rebounded to pre-recession levels, despite heightened demand and soaring wood products prices. Montana is home to 22 million acres of forest, with 13 million acres available for timber harvesting. Despite this, the United States imported more than $14 billion worth of wood products to supply a growing demand.

During 2008-2013, USFS Region 1 had more than 70 projects litigated. According to the BBER: In recent years, litigation has encumbered 40 to 50 percent of R1’s planned timber harvest volume and treatment acres, and litigation of the SBR project alone involved more than 25 percent of the Flathead National Forest’s FY 2013 timber program. The estimated financial impact of litigation-encumbered timber volume on R1’s congressionally appropriated timber program budget was $9.8 million in FY 2013 and $6.8 million in FY 2014.

Background on the National Forest Collaborative Incentive Act of 2015

The National Forest Collaborative Incentive Act of 2015 is a compilation of the best legislative concepts to quickly address the disastrous consequences of catastrophic wildfire and other threats to our nation’s federal forests and the Forest Service’s inability to address those threats. If enacted, the bill could be implemented immediately by the Forest Service—it requires no new planning, mapping, rulemaking or regulations. It simplifies environmental process requirements, reduces project planning times and reduces the cost of implementing forest management projects while still ensuring robust protection of the environment.

Prevents Wildfires-

Utilizes tools that the Forest Service can implement immediately to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire, insect and disease infestation, damage to municipal watersheds, and quickly harvest wildfire-killed trees to pay for reforestation.

Incentivizes & Rewards Collaboration-

Allows expedited environmental review for collaborative projects by limiting environmental analysis to the collaborative group’s project and the ‘no action’ alternative. Protects collaborative projects from unnecessary delay by requiring bonding for would-be litigants.

Definition of a Collaborative-Collaboratives, as defined in the 2014 Farm Bill, include representatives from the industry, environmental non-profits, local and state government, tribes, and other diverse groups. No ratio of each group is required, nor are there geographical restrictions. Collaboratives are in charge of themselves and select who is in charge of the process. In regards to their role with the USFS, they are given higher priority for strategic applications for a given plan if they are done in collaboration of a broad swath of stakeholders.

Allows for New Funding Sources-

Provides new methods of funding Forest Service projects such as ‘revolving funds’ for projects on national forests funded by states. (Montana, New Mexico and Oregon have made efforts to fund national forest projects to prevent catastrophic wildfire).

Modernizes the Secure Rural Schools & Community Self-Determination Act (SRS)-

While funding for the SRS has been extended several times, many of the other parts of the law have expired. This language reauthorizes the Resource Advisory Committees (RACs) and makes several minor, but much-needed updates to the law as well as returns County share of forest receipts for long term stewardship projects.