(And the latest draft is out... - promoted by Matt Singer)
In a move thought to be unprecedented in the U.S. Senate, Senator Jon Tester has posted online his newest draft of the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act. He also pledged to post online any of his own future drafts of the bill.
You can read the new draft at: http://tester.senate.gov/Legis...
The draft is a revision of Title I of the legislation, written in response to a discussion draft recently put forward by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where the bill awaits a vote.
The bottom line is that under the new, made-in-Montana draft, the outcome on the ground would be the same as it would have been in the original Forest Jobs and Recreation Act. The only thing different is the process involved.
Unlike the Committee's document, Tester's new draft retains the timber and restoration certainties that were proposed by the original bill, which was introduced in July of 2009. He has said he will only support a bill that contains the four carefully balanced provisions (timber, wilderness, recreation and restoration) that resulted from years of Montanans working together.
Tester's most recent proposal also creates a new national forest initiative that can apply to other forests in the country. This national framework directs the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to select several forests on which to conduct forest restoration work aimed at creating timber jobs and restoring watersheds. But through this bill, the first forests to be considered for this work will be the three Montana forests it was originally designed for: the Beaverhead-Deerlodge, the Three Rivers District of the Kootenai, and the Seeley District of the Lolo.
This discussion draft also contains new ideas Tester heard from many Montanans over the past year-from emails, phone calls, meetings and seven public, well attended and well advised listening sessions. Ideas included in the new discussion draft include:
- Prioritizing Wildland Urban Interface land (land near communities at high risk of wildfire) when selecting areas for the stewardship contracts.
- Expanding the area eligible for stewardship contracting in Three Rivers District of the Kootenai National Forest in order to protect grizzly bear habitat.
- Adding language for "Best Value" stewardship contracting, which requires contracts to be awarded on the basis of achieving best value to the government. A variety of criteria, including weighted local preference, would be used in making the award determination.
From here, we can expect several more drafts of the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act until Tester and the Committee find enough common ground to move the bill forward.
Finally, it's worth noting that the Forest Service has indicated support for the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act since its hearing last December. During a March visit to Montana, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said: "We're going to continue to work with Sen. Tester to accomplish what the bill is supposed to do... There's a tremendous opportunity here." [Montana Standard, 4-7-10] http://www.mtstandard.com/news... |
