Tester introduces bill that includes impact to Kootenai forest's Three Rivers District
Standing with loggers, outfitters, conservationists, hunters and anglers who spent years working together on a plan for Montana’s forests, Sen. Jon Tester on Friday introduced his much-anticipated legislation to reform forest management.
“Our forests, and the communities and folks who rely on them, face a crisis right now,” Tester said Friday during a news conference at RY Timber in Townsend. “Our local sawmills are on the brink, families are out of work, while our forests turn red from an unprecedented outbreak of pine beetles, waiting for the next big wildfire.
“It’s a crisis that demands action now,” he added. “This bill is a made-in-Montana solution that took years of working together and hearing input to create a common sense forest plan.”
The bill affects the Three Rivers District in Kootenai National Forest along with Montana’s Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and the Seeley Lake District of the Lolo National Forest.
The Three Rivers Challenge organization has pushed for the changes. Critics believe there are no certainties in place for all components of the proposal and that Lincoln County does not need more forest land falling under the wilderness designation.
Tester said his 80-page bill, formally called the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, will create jobs, protect clean water and keep Montana’s prized hunting and fishing habitat healthy for future generations.
The Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, in part:
• Requires the U.S. Forest Service to harvest at least 70,000 acres over 10 years in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.
• Requires the U.S. Forest Service to harvest at least 30,000 acres over 10 years in the Kootenai National Forest.
• Creates a new Big Hole National Recreation Area.
• Sets aside forest areas for snowmobiles and bicycles.
• Releases 76,000 of acres of Bureau of Land Management land to uses such as timber harvest and recreation. Right now that land, part of seven Wilderness Study Areas, is not official wilderness but has been managed as if it were.
• Ensures about 677,000 acres of prime hunting and fishing habitat now and for future generations of Montanans through wilderness designation.
• Does not impact grazing rights.
Tester today encouraged Montanans to read and weigh in on his Forest Jobs Bill.
Tester launched a new information website, tester.senate.gov/forest , which includes resources, maps, a link to the legislation, and a feedback forum. Montanans can also use the site to sign on as “citizen co-sponsors” of the measure.