Comments on: Rehberg Schedules Wilderness Bill Listening Sessions
By Matthew Koehler on 12-24-09
I do think that Tester’s bill has been equally criticized from all sides. I’m quite positive that if you’d look at the official record for the Senate hearing you’d see this clearly. Seems like the only ones who support it are the ones who were in allowed to sit around the table and craft it.
Anyway, not sure if any of that matters anymore. The major criticism of Tester’s bill is now coming from the White House and the Forest Service.
Isn’t it quite interesting that the Under Secretary of Agriculture (who runs the entire US Forest Service) has come out so strongly against the major provisions of Sen Tester’s bill? See: http://energy.senate.gov/public/_files/ShermanTestimonyonS1470121709.pdf
Here is some of what Under Secretary Sherman said at the Senate hearing:
“If the Committee decides to go forward with a bill, we would urge you to first, alter or remove the highly specific timber supply requirements, which in our view are not reasonable or achievable. Secondly, we like to urge you to amend the National Environmental Policy Act related provisions, which in our view are flawed and are legally vulnerable. Thirdly, we would urge you to consider the budgetary implications to met the bill’s requirements. If we were to go forward with S1470 it would require far greater resources to do that and it will require us to draw these monies from forests within Region One or from other Regions. And lastly, there are a number of other issues that I have flagged in my written testimony that we think needs to be addressed and hopefully corrected.”
These concerns expressed quite clearly by Under Secretary Sherman and the White House have been the same exact concerns that many conservation groups and citizens in Montana have been expressing about this bill for months.
So far, Senator Tester, his staff and the supporters of his bill have completely ignored all of these concerns. Not sure if that’s an option for them any longer given that the same concerns are now coming from the Under Secretary in charge of the Forest Service and the White House. If Senator Tester wants to sit down with the Forest Service and our Last Best Place Wildlands Campaign (http://testerloggingbilltruths.wordpress.com) and anyone else to figure out a way out of the mess Tester and his staff have created, we’re all ears.
But seriously, the Forest Service and the White House are not going to let this bill pass as written. Senator Bingaman (chair of Energy and Natural Resources Committee) is not going to let this bill pass as written. On the House side, the same is true of Rep Rahall and Rep Grijalva, who each chair important committees.
The bill needs a major over haul of the provisions that greatly concern Under Secretary Sherman, the Forest Service and the White House and many conservation organizations and citizens. That’s the reality now, so Tester’s people better come to terms with it and drop the shallow talking points.
By CK on 12-29-09
David Skinner, David Skinner, you have a call at the Physical Services desk….David Skinner.
Could it be that M.Koehler and D.Skinner actually agree on something? Like the notion that this bill might not be quite right.
Mr. Skinner, please weigh in.
The views expressed in the comments section do not reflect those of the Beacon.