Boosting Timbering in the Allegheny National Forest

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to once again reinforce the importance of proper management of our Nation's national forests.

Over the past two decades, timber harvests in the Allegheny National Forest have fallen dramatically, following a trend we have seen in national forests nationwide. This has a domino effect on communities and school districts in and around the forest, because, since 1908, counties in national forests are entitled to 25 percent of the receipts from timber sales under the 1908 Good Neighbor Compact.

These are communities which were built on the lumber industry and natural resources. Many are among the most rural, poorest in Pennsylvania, and the funding from timber sales is critical for schools, roads, and other public services, something these towns and school districts depend on.

Due to this diminished revenue and various challenges forest communities continue to face, we must pass real reform that leads to good management practices in our national forests. As such, I continue to support the Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2015, or H.R. 2647. I believe this legislation is a key to increasing timber harvests in our national forests, which will not only benefit our communities but will create a forest that is healthier and less prone to wildfires and invasive species.

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