Montana Wilderness News: Letters to the Editor

I have been following Sen. Jon Tester and his proposed changes to the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act; this bill has some things in it I really like and some things I disagree with, but the truth is he's showing it for Montanans to see as it moves through Washington, D.C.

That was Tester's promise when we elected him and he's keeping that promise. "Tester said in a conference call with reporters, ‘It's going to streamline the process to make it work better, faster and more flexible.' " (Missoulian, June 18).

Judging by the civil and substantive discussion and considerable
support from Montanans for the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, it may
well be one of the most relevant and timely pieces of natural resource
legislation to grace our great state in a very long time.

During his recent visit to Montana, Secretary of Agriculture Tom
Vilsack praised Sen. Jon Tester's forest bill and expressed his support
for the legislation as a pilot project (see "etc.," March 11, 2010). As
a supporter of the bill I'm glad to see these two decision-makers reach
common ground.

Dear Editor,
I am writing to express that we all need to push for the passage of
Senator Jon Tester's Forest Jobs and Recreation Act. As a Montanan, I
feel that it is important to preserve our way of life that we have
become so accustomed to and grateful for.

It is time for everyone interested in outdoor recreation and
productive natural resource management to get behind Sen. Jon Tester's
Forest Jobs and Recreation bill. We have been in a 35-year management
stalemate since the Roadless Area Review and Evaluation, RARE I and II
studies of the 1970s.

What's a paycheck worth? More to some people than others.

Creating jobs and paychecks is, of course, among the important goals of Sen. Jon Tester's Forest Jobs and Recreation Act - a bill that blazes a trail to healthier, more productive and more sustainable forests in Montana.

If Montana's timber interests can team with wilderness advocates on a forest compromise, shouldn't Montana's Republican Congressman Denny Rehberg be able to work with Democrat Sen. Jon Tester on advancing the federal legisla tion that flowed from that partnership?
 
One would hope so.

It can be difficult to see the bigger picture when our immediate needs and wants are at stake. Ask a first grader this holiday
season if they would rather have a new toy or the cash equivalent put into a retirement fund. The answer will undoubtedly be
the toy. That's a first grader, though. As adults we would have really appreciated that retirement fund. This type of foresight is
something that is sorely missing in legislation these days, and this is why the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act is so important.

The Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, which was introduced by Sen. Jon Tester in July, had a committee hearing on Dec. 17. Getting a hearing on this bill amid the nation’s concerns over health care and climate change shows that Tester really is looking out for Montanans.

This bill was built by local collaborative projects and provides local solutions to our forest problems, not the least of which is making sure we have access to the places to recreate.

For many years, the timber industry has faced job loss and shortage of supply. Our communities have also been threatened by wildfire and our forests by beetle kill. We need to take action, and the time is now.