MT: Tester's Plan for Wilderness, Logging

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On the web
http://tester.senate.gov/Legislation/foresthome.cfm

http://www.nytimes.com
December 14, 2009
Sen. Tester's Plan for Wilderness, Logging Roils Big Sky Country
By NOELLE STRAUB of Greenwire

...Sen. Jon Tester has proposed a new model for managing national forests.

The Democrat's controversial proposal, ...the "Forest Jobs and Recreation Act".., would guide how federal agencies manage large swaths of land in his home state of Montana.

S. 1470 would designate hundreds of thousands of acres as wilderness, while releasing other lands...protected as wilderness study areas. And...would require timber harvest on a minimum number of acres each year.

http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/12/14 ... -4200.html

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bozemandailychronicle.com
Tester forest bill heard on Capitol Hill
12/18/09

A plan to require 7,000 acres...be logged annually in...Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest for the next 10 years met some skepticism on Capitol Hill Thursday.

The requirement is a major component of Sen. Jon Tester’s sweeping forest bill...

[M]embers of the Obama administration/environmentalists told a Senate Energy/Natural Resources subcommittee...the provision could set a dangerous precedent for forest management and prove difficult to implement.

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articl ... 2/18/news/

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http://www.newwest.net/
GUEST COMMENTARY
Tester’s Forest Bill Should Represent All Interests
Local elected official has different perspective on Tester's Forest Jobs and Recreation Act.
By Jeff Welborn, Guest Writer, 12-29-09

On behalf of the vast majority of my constituents...in Beaverhead County, the largest land mass affected by the outcome of Senator Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act., I ask you to consider a different perspective, before supporting this legislation...

[I]t’s possible to manage our public lands, while keeping the natural values in place and...being able to harvest the natural resources for the good of agriculture, timber, mining, energy, and recreation interests.

Editor’s note: Jeff Welborn (R-Dillon) serves the constituents of 72th district in the Montana House of Representatives.

http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/te ... s/C41/L41/

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billingsgazette.com
Rehberg stance on compromise forest bill could be pivotal
By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press
Posted: Sunday, January 3, 2010 6:30 am

U.S. Sen. Tester has drawn on a wide-ranging alliance of loggers/outfitters, environmentalists/business interests to push legislation creating Montana's first new wilderness in more than 25 years.

But [Tester] has yet to land...support of the state's sole member of the House, U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg.

[W]here [Rehberg] comes down could either help seal Tester's biggest legislative achievement since his 2006 election - or put up a major roadblock to the bill's success.

http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-a ... 03286.html

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Welcome to The Clark Fork Chronicle
Sunday, January 17 2010 @ 06:13 PM MST
Tester invites Rehberg to compare notes on forest bill

Saturday, January 16 2010 @ 09:30 PM MST

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Jon Tester today invited Montana Congressman Denny Rehberg to “compare notes” on the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act.

Both Tester and Rehberg have held public listening sessions on the legislation, which Tester introduced in July. Tester wrote the bill with input from loggers, conservationists, hunters, anglers and motorized sports enthusiasts who worked together on plans to better manage Montana’s forests.

http://www.clarkforkchronicle.com/artic ... 6215050614

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billingsgazette.com
Guest opinion: Forest biomass offers Montana promise, pitfalls
JOE KERKVLIET | Posted: Saturday, January 30, 2010

[R]ecent closure of Smurfit-Stone’s paper mill...has loggers/sawmill operators wondering who will buy their small logs, sawdust, chips.., other residues.... These questions...prompted suggestions that creating a new market to burn these/other woody fuels for energy offers solutions to overgrown forests, high fossil fuel prices.., a struggling wood products industry.

Done right, woody biomass can replace some coal/natural gas.., create good jobs....

However, our biomass industry should be built to match realistic [supply] expectations.

Joe Kerkvliet, of Bozeman, is an economist with Northern Regional Office of The Wilderness Society. He specializes in natural resource, environmental and ecological economics.

http://billingsgazette.com/news/opinion ... 03286.html

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missoulanews.bigskypress.com
Tester changes forest bill
Posted by Matthew Frank on Fri, Feb 5, 2010 at 5:46 PM

Sen. Tester announced a slew of proposed changes to his Forest Jobs and Recreation Act.., changes he says are based on feedback...from thousands of Montanans....

[P]roposed changes include:

Adding language to use mediated appeals....

Extending the timber/restoration portion of the bill....

Strengthening pilot language to emphasize...the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act is a pilot effort that, if successful, can be applied to other national forests.

Making...restoration components of the bill stronger....

Download PDF files of the specific changes here.
http://tester.senate.gov/Legislation/fo ... ources.cfm

http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/Ind ... orest-bill

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http://www.dailyinterlake.com
Forest bill: Unrealistic goals?
Posted: Sunday, February 7, 2010 2:00 am | Updated: .

Inter Lake editorial

...Tester is...stressing the potential of his Forest Jobs/Recreation Act for sustaining employment in [MT’s] timber industry.... [We’re not so certain that will be the...outcome.

Neither is Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., and many [other] Montanans....

The “overriding concern...Rehberg said: Tester’s bill will instantly establish 25 wilderness designations...of federal lands, [with] no assurances...forest stewardship components in the bill will proceed.

...Rehberg is proposing a “phase-in” provision.. Tester has objected....

http://www.dailyinterlake.com/opinion/e ... 03286.html

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Congressman Denny Rehberg (R-Montana)
Press Release
Rehberg Posts Wilderness Comments In His Online "Transparency Center"
02/01/10

WASHINGTON, DC – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today posted a list of verbal and written comments he heard from Montanans during the 22 public meetings he held regarding Sen. Jon Tester’s Wilderness bill. The comments are posted in the “Transparency Center” portion of Rehberg’s congressional website. Last week, Rehberg promised to take this action in a letter to Senator Tester and asked the Senator to join him in doing so in order to maximize transparency in the legislative process.

“I heard from hundreds of Montanans, each with their own ideas and opinions,” said Rehberg, “While ideas will vary in merit, each deserves to at least be heard and considered in a public forum. That’s what I’m trying to do – put them all in the bucket and see which ones end up floating.”

Rehberg has laid out a number of these comments as examples of what he’d like to see changed to the underlying legislation. One proposal, addressing an overriding concern heard in 22 listening sessions, is the notion of a wilderness ‘phase-in’ that would time the creation of new wilderness to the active management of other lands. This solution would alleviate the concern that as soon as the bill becomes law, the wilderness designations are immediate, while there is no assurance that stewardship components would not be infinitely delayed by litigation.

Rehberg, who relayed multiple suggestions in real-time to the public and the press during the course of his listening tour, has gathered a wide array of additional ideas for changes to the legislation including boundary line concerns from farmers and ranchers, preservation of recreational opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts, and maintaining the ability to accurately inventory natural resources like molybdenum.

“There’s no silver bullet here,” warned Rehberg. “There are a lot of very good ideas that should each be considered on their own merit. While I appreciate the buy-in from the partnerships that helped draft the bill, this legislation affects all Montanans who deserve the right to be heard. In addition to some other fixes, an incremental phase-in would help ensure logging isn’t bogged down by lawsuits after new wilderness areas are designated.”

Comments can be found online at http://rehberg.house.gov

http://rehberg.house.gov/index.cfm?sect ... temid=1400

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http://www.abcmontana.com
Tester's forest bill could be pilot project
By The Associated Press
Story Published: Mar 7, 2010 at 4:11 PM MST

DEER LODGE - U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the Obama administration could support the logging mandate proposed in U.S. Sen. Jon Tester's forest bill as a pilot project.

...Vilsack said the agency would consider Tester's bill as a trial run to see if it's effective in improving forest health and helping rural economies.

Tester's bill would create more than 600,000 acres of wilderness..., and open 70,000 acres...to logging over the next decade.

http://www.abcmontana.com/news/state/86765487.html