Subcommittee Meeting

[Grumpy]

Subcommittee to Hold Washington State Field Hearing on Failed Federal Forest PoliciesDear BRC Action Alert Subscriber,The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands will hold an oversight field hearing entitled "Failed Federal Forest Policies: Endangering Jobs, Forests and Species." The hearing will examine how federal administering of the Northwest Forest Plan and Endangered Species Act has affected local economies, forest health and the Northern Spotted Owl. The hearing is on Monday, May 21, 2012, at 9:00 am at the Cowlitz County Convention Center in Longview, Washington.BRC will have updated info and a report in the coming days and weeks. There will also be opportunity to submit official testimony to the subcommittee. If you live in or near Longview, please try to make time to attend the hearing. See below for time and location.As always, if you have any questions or concerns please contact us.Brian Hawthorne Ric Foster
Public Lands Policy Director Public Lands Department Manager
BlueRibbon Coalition BlueRibbon Coalition
208-237-1008 ext 102 208-237-1008 ext 107


*************************************************************

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Crystal Feldman, Spencer Pederson or Jill Strait
Monday, May 14, 2012 202-226-9019
***MEDIA ADVISORY***
Subcommittee to Hold Washington State Field Hearing on
Failed Federal Forest Policies
WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Monday, May 21st, the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands will hold an oversight field hearing in Longview, Washington entitled "Failed Federal Forest Policies: Endangering Jobs, Forests and Species." The hearing will examine how federal administering of the Northwest Forest Plan and Endangered Species Act has affected local economies, forest health and the Northern Spotted Owl.
In 1990, the Northern Spotted Owl was listed under the Endangered Species Act and as a result, the Northwest federal forest management regime was established. Still in effect, the Northwest Forest Plan has proven to be been a failure. The management plan has been driven by lawsuits as opposed to sound science, caused active forest management to plummet, failed in its mission of protecting the Northern Spotted Owl, and contributed to the deterioration of forest health. The Obama administration recently released a new critical habitat proposal for the Northern Spotted Owl that would replace the current management plan. It would place huge portions Washington, Oregon and California off limits to economic development and could indirectly impact over 19,000 Northwest jobs tied to private lands. The proposed plan also fails to adequately address the most serious threat to the Spotted Owl - the Barred Owl.
"The Obama administration's proposed Northwest recovery plan would increase burdensome regulations, cost thousands of jobs, and place more public land off limits, all while failing to address the Spotted Owl's top predator - the Barred Owl. I look forward to hearing from expert witnesses on how we can replace this flawed plan with one that will not only protect the Spotted Owl, but will also protect private property and help restore active forest management so that local communities can prosper and forest health can be restored," said Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04).
"For 20 years now, Southwest Washington has witnessed the damage inflicted by flawed federal forest management policies. These policies have caused rural community and manufacturing jobs to disappear. They have failed to protect our forests that are becoming increasingly vulnerable after years of insufficient management. And they have failed to protect our native wildlife. I'm grateful to Chairman Hastings and the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee for hosting this hearing in a region that believes responsible forest management and sustainable, family-wage jobs can go together. I look forward to hearing from experts and local community stakeholders about the need for a better, more science-based approach to managing our forests," said Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA-03).
WHO:
Natural Resources Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04)
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA-03)
WHAT:
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands oversight field hearing on:
"Failed Federal Forest Policies: Endangering Jobs, Forests and Species"
Witnesses will be by invitation only.
WHEN:
Monday, May 21, 2012
9:00 A.M. PDT
WHERE:
Cowlitz County Convention Center
1900 7th Avenue
Longview, Washington, 98632
Visit the Committee Calendar for testimony and additional information, once it is made available. The hearing is open to the public and a live video stream will be broadcast at http://naturalresources.house.gov/live.
###
__________________

[Grumpy]

Field Hearing Stresses Need for Active Forest Management to Suppress Bark Beetle Epidemic, Protect Water and Power Supplies



Montrose, CO, May 14, 2012 - Today, the House Subcommittees on Water and Power and National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands held a joint oversight field hearing in Montrose, Colorado entitled, “Logs in the Road: Eliminating Federal Red Tape and Excessive Litigation to Create Healthy Forests, Jobs and Abundant Water and Power Supplies.â€

[Grumpy]

PNW will have someone in attendance. I'm trying to round up the witness list now.

[Grumpy]

SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL PARKS, FORESTS AND PUBLIC LANDS
Cowlitz County Expo and Conference Center, 1900 7th Avenue, Longview, Washington
Monday, May 21, 2012
9:00 a.m. Pacific Time

OVERSIGHT FIELD HEARING ON:

•"Failed Federal Forest Policies: Endangering Jobs, Forests and Species"
WITNESSES AND TESTIMONY:

Panel I

The Honorable Paul Pearce
Chairman
Skamania County Commissioner
Stevenson, WA

Tom Fox
President
Family Forest Foundation
Ethel, WA

Dr. Hal Salwasser
Cheryl Ramberg and Allyn C. Ford Dean of the College of Forestry
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR

Stephen Mealey
Vice President of Conservation
Boone & Crockett Club
Springfield, OR

Kent Connaughton
Pacific NW Regional Forester
U.S. Forest Service
Portland, OR

Bob Abbey (or designee)
Bureau of Land Management

Mitch Friedman
Executive Director
Northwest Ecosystem Alliance
Bellingham, WA

Ernie Niemi
Senior Economist
EcoNorthwest
Eugene, OR

Kelly Kreps
Kreps Ranch, LLC
White Salmon, WA

Tom Nelson
Washington Timberlands Manager
Sierra Pacific Industries
Mt. Vernon, WA

BACKGROUND:

This hearing will examine how federal administering of the Northwest Forest Plan and Endangered Species Act has affected local economies, forest health and the Northern Spotted Owl. In 1990, the Northern Spotted Owl was listed under the Endangered Species Act and as a result, the Northwest federal forest management regime was established. Still in effect, the Northwest Forest Plan has proven to be been a failure. The management plan has been driven by lawsuits as opposed to sound science, caused active forest management to plummet, failed in its mission of protecting the Northern Spotted Owl, and contributed to the deterioration of forest health. The Obama administration recently released a new critical habitat proposal for the Northern Spotted Owl that would replace the current management plan. It would place huge portions Washington, Oregon and California off limits to economic development and could indirectly impact over 19,000 Northwest jobs tied to private lands. The proposed plan also fails to adequately address the most serious threat to the Spotted Owl – the Barred Owl.

Related Files:

•Subcommittee Field Hearing Notice - May 14, 2012
•Subcommittee Witness List - May 18, 2012
•Updated: Subcommittee Witness List - May 18, 2012



CalendarHearingsMarkupsSearch ArchivesWatch Live HearingsSearch Events By
Year 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995
Subcommittee Energy & Mineral Resources Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans & Insular Affairs Indian & Alaska Native Affairs National Parks, Forests & Public Lands Water & Power
Type 112th Congress Hearing Archive 111th Congress Hearing Archive 110th Congress Hearing Archive 109th Congress Hearing Archive 108th Congress Hearing Archive 107th Congress Hearing Archive 106th Congress Hearing Archive 105th Congress Hearing Archive 104th Congress Hearing Archive
SEARCH FOR A BILL
Search THOMAS for:

Advanced Search
Home News
NewsroomPress Releases Op-Eds & Speeches In Case You Missed It Blog Video Gallery RSS News Feed Activities
Calendar Hearings Markups Search Archives Watch Live Hearings Information
Key Issues Committee Votes Legislation Correspondence Committee Reports Documents Hearing FAQsIntern Opportunities Additional Resources About
About the Committee Meet the Chairman
Doc Hastings Meet Our Members Subcommittees Jurisdiction Committee History Committee Rules Contact
Contact Us e-Newsletter Sign-Up Connect With Us Font Size A A APrivacy PolicySite MapMinority SiteContact Us
Switch to the Mobile Site

[Grumpy]

Honorable Members of the Committee:

As an avid OHV enthusiast, I would like to take this time to express my concerns with how OHV is being treated by various Federal Agencies, most notably the Forest Service. We have been, for the most part, ignored during any actions that are meant to guide how our forests are managed in the future, and not seen as a legitimate stakeholder in these efforts. The "green conflict industry" has cast us as the bad guys, and have gone out of their way to keep our use of our public lands in controversy.

This does not constitute a balanced effort to address how our public lands are to be used by the poeple who pay for their management. The whole thing is tipping toward extreme closure agendas by those who are anti OHV, and there seems to be too many members of USFS staff who share this agenda. I would like to know how this has been allowed to happen, and when is an effort going to be made to get this all back in balance.

Recreation can be a major source of income for the forests and for local business, but not if there is no fair treatment of those who choose one way over another to use our recreational resources. "I don't like your hobby/sport, so it can't be allowed" is not the right way to look at forest use. Balance is needed, and it's long overdue for our public land managers to get back to the multiple use mandate they were given by congress.

I look forward to seeing how the Committee deals with all it has to face, and hope that fair consideration is given to the input from all users of our public lands in how those lands are to be managed for the future.

Regards,

Dave Walters
Peak Putters 4x4 Club
Land Use Coordinator
Kennewick, Wa