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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.
When forester Scott Kuehn walks into the woods to do some
"mechanical treatment," he expects to cut some trees.
"It's something a man does to alter the woods," said Kuehn, who
works for Tricon Lumber in St. Regis. "It can be a guy with a chain
saw hand-cutting and piling. Or larger-equipment style, like
feller-bunchers. It can go all the way down to hand clippers. It's
mechanical logging versus old-style hand-falling."
Recently, a committed group of conservationists came together to
passionately discuss Sen. Jon Tester's Forest Jobs and Recreation
Act. The energy and excitement surrounding this legislation is
nothing short of inspiring.
Editor's note: This is the first in an occasional series of
stories examining issues raised by Sen. Jon Tester's Forest Jobs
and Recreation Act.
During a public meeting on Sen. Jon Tester's Forest Jobs and
Recreation Act, Missoula resident Jackie Corday asked a question
that nearly stumped the panel of speakers: How many inventoried
roadless forest acres would be labeled "available for possible
harvest" under the bill?
The first major Montana wildlands legislation in decades hopes
to clean up a lot of the loose ends created by the state's
deadlocked wilderness debate.
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.
Forest chief thanks Senator for legislation, leadership on forest issues
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - Senator Jon Tester today told the nation's top
forest manager that "stewardship contracting" provisions in his Forest
Jobs and Recreation Act are necessary tools to more effectively create
jobs and improve the health of national forests across the country.
Tester questioned U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell today during a
Senate hearing on how the Forest Service is addressing the goals of
expanded stewardship contracting nationwide.
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.
