U.S. SENATE — Two of Senator Steve Daines’ forest management reform bills were discussed at a U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing today. Daines’ forestry bills will address abuse in the courts and frivolous litigation to help increase active forest management that reduces the risk of catastrophic wildfires, protects Montana families and communities from fires and supports good paying timber jobs.
Daines’ bills would reverse the disastrous Cottonwood decision and establish a pilot arbitration program to protect collaboratively-developed forest management projects from fringe litigation.
Watch and download remarks HERE.
“Forest management is good for our workers, watersheds, wildlife, and wildfire prevention. It’s a critical part of our way of life in Montana and it’s time to return to common sense forest management,” Daines said.
During the hearing, Daines stressed the bipartisan roots of his legislation to reverse the Cottonwood decision, which even the Obama administration agreed must be reversed or it could ‘cripple forest management.’ Watch and download the remarks HERE.
He also discussed how creating a pilot arbitration program could help resolve legal disputes more quickly and prevent forest management projects from stalling in court. Watch and download the remarks HERE.
Finally, Daines announced the introduction of a new bipartisan forestry bill with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) called the “Root and Stem Act.” Daines highlighted how this new effort would empower non-federal groups to collaborate and find creative solutions to improve the health of our forests. Find the bill text HERE.
“This morning we introduced the Root and Stem Act, which allows an eligible entity to take the lead on project design, development, review, and implementation. By sharing stewardship of our forests, we can accomplish more work efficiently to provide for healthier environments and healthier rural economies,” Daines said.
Watch and download Daines’ full remarks HERE.
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Contact: Katherine McKeogh, Katie Schoettler