Tester bill includes Three Rivers proposal

Logging and wilderness – existing together in harmony.

Sen. Jon Tester unveiled legislation on Friday with that vision along with the protection of designated areas for motorized-vehicle use such as ATVs and snowmobiles.

In Lincoln County, Three Rivers Challenge has worked for more than three years to bring together stakeholders representing the timber, recreation and wilderness components. The area involves Kootenai National Forest land on the Three Rivers District in the Yaak.

“Our forests, and the communities and folks who rely on them, face a crisis right now,” Tester said Friday afternoon 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.”

Along with the Three Rivers District, the measure also affects Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and the Seeley Lake District of the Lolo National Forest.

Tester said his 80-page bill, formally called the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, will create jobs, protect clean water and keep Montana’s 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 and leaves thousands of miles of roads and motorized trails intact.

• Releases 76,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management land to uses such as timber harvest and recreation. Currently, 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’s legislation does have its critics, however, with many insisting that no certainties are in place when it comes to the recreation and timber management components. Others do not want more wilderness areas.

In a recent interview, State Rep. Chas Vincent suggested the implementation of a trigger mechanism in the legislation to guarantee recreation and timber management. In other words, if the forest land in question could realistically be managed at the 3,000 acres per year over a 10-year period, than the trigger would kick in for the wilderness designation to follow.

“We’re told that it’s not politically feasible to have that conditional language in the bill … without it, I can’t support it,” Vincent said.

Some environmental groups believe the plan allows too much logging with not enough wilderness. Others say Tester was influenced by special interests to abandon the idea of protecting roadless areas.

At the other end of the spectrum, environmental groups such as the Montana Wilderness Association participated in the draft legislation. Some motorized vehicle groups have also lended their support, such as the Kootenai Ridge Riders ATV Club in Libby.

“In my mind, you are part of the problem or part of the solution. Let’s go find it,” said the Ridge Riders’ Joel Chandler. “You can fix a lot of things with that if you use that spirit.”

Besides the ATV club, others who worked on components of the bill in recent years involving Three Rivers included Linehan Outfitters, Kurt Rayson of Rayson Logging, Lincoln County Snow Kats, Yaak Valley Forest Council and the Troy Snowmobile Club.

Among the areas in the bill that would be protected as wilderness is Roderick Mountain in the Yaak.

Despite differences of opinion when it comes to land management issues, Tester believes unity exists among the various groups. In addition, the senator said mills are suffering even though thousands of dead trees from pine beetle infestation can be found – trees that could be logged before lost in a fire.

“The Forest Jobs Bill will create good new jobs now,” Tester said. “It will restore our forests and get people working again in the woods. And it will protect Montanans’ access to America’s best fishing, hunting, camping and hiking – important traditions that are deeply ingrained in our heritage.”

The bill must pass both the Senate and House before landing on President Obama’s desk. Tester, who is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, hopes to get hearings on the bill sometime this fall with the goal of it clearing the Senate in early 2010.

Share Your Views

Sen. Jon Tester invites 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.