Daines preparing to re-introduce Forest Management Bill
Sen. Steve Daines believes more intense fire seasons make forest management reform critical
By: Dennis Bragg
and last updated 2021-05-18 16:30:48-04
WASHINGTON, D.C. â With the continuing trend for hotter fire seasons, Senator Steve Daines believes it s still critical to reform forest management. And he s preparing for another run at a bill to make those changes.
Senator Daines tells me the U.S. still needs a package of solutions to resolve the conditions that have left death and destruction in the aftermath of recent fire seasons. And he s ready to take another pass at a measure which got traction in Congress last fall.
SALEM, Ore. – A timber tax is under discussion in Salem this legislative session.
House Bill 2379 would impose a severance tax on timber owners at the time of harvest. That money would go into a statewide Emergency Wildfire Fund.
However, politicians have varying viewpoints on how this would impact the timber industry.
“[The timber industry are] the ones not causing catastrophic wildfires. You can’t ignore the decades of environmental neglect on the public landscape, where the fires are burning. [Then] attack the private timber owners that are managing that resource, in a way, that fires don’t burn,” said Republican State Representative David Brock Smith.
I recently had the opportunity to speak on the Senate floor about important progress under way on the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests to improve the health of the forests that is a great example of the benefits of collaborative efforts. The following contains parts of the speech, and a video of the full speech can be accessed through my website at: www.crapo.senate.gov.
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I have been a longtime champion of collaboration to address public lands management disputes, as collaborative processes are good for the environment and good for natural-resource based economies. Collaborative problem-solving is a key way to ensure all voices are heard and long-term solutions are crafted.