Changes on horizon with forest jobs bill

Sen. Jon Tester offered a few hints last week about changes to be made to the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act and added that full details would soon be announced.

During a Jan. 28 conference call with Montana media, Tester mentioned modifications to S. 1470 such as “changes where folks can cut trees … giving the Forest Service more flexibility” … “changes as far as where the lines are” … and in reference to military landings in the Highlands region southeast of Butte, “pull some of that out.”

“Hopefully, we can keep the crux of the bill together,” Tester said.

Rep. Denny Rehberg, who appeared in Libby on Jan. 16 to gather comments on the bill, said he would not support S. 1470 in its current form. In short, Rehberg believes the bill cannot follow through with its logging project requirements because timber contracts could be delayed in the courts. In the meantime, 600,000 acres of land would be immediately designated as wilderness.

Rehberg has proposed an amendment to Tester’s bill that would phase in wilderness as timber contracts actually play out.

“While I appreciate the buy-in from the partnerships that helped draft the bill, this legislation affects all Montanans who deserve the right to be heard,” Rehberg said earlier this week. “In addition to some other fixes, an incremental phase-in would help ensure logging isn’t bogged down by lawsuits after new wilderness areas are designated.”

Tester believes trigger language would not make it through the Senate.

“We would have a difficult time, if not an impossible time, getting through the Senate,” Tester said. “This bill is very clear – 7,000 (acres) in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge and 3,000 in your neck of the woods. I’m not a lawyer, I’m a farmer. But many lawyers say this is as good as language as possible.”

Tester and Rehberg have communicated about meeting for a sit-down about S. 1470 but as of this past week, that had not materialized.

In the Three Rivers District of Kootenai National Forest, S. 1470 calls for at least 3,000 acres to be logged anually for 10 years as part of a series of broader restoration projects of at least 50,000 acres.

It also creates the Three Rivers Special Management Area, which encompasses separate motorized and non-motorized areas and directs the U.S. Forest Service to conduct a study of potential ATV routes. The bill would designate 30,000 acres of wilderness at Roderick Mountain.

Rehberg has posted wilderness comments on what he refers to as his online “Transparency Center” ( http://rehberg.house.gov ). The verbal and written comments were collected from his 22 public meetings on the issue.

Tester remains positive about the bill’s future.

“The bill is close to a sure thing as there can be – and there’s never a sure thing out there,” Tester said. “Anyone can challenge in the courts … this is quite honestly as rock solid as it can be.”