Lummis Airs Concerns Over Health of Wyo Forests

Press Release

During a House Agriculture Subcommittee hearing on the future of forestry policy, U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., highlighted her concerns regarding the health of Wyoming's forests.

Lummis, a member of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry took time to explain the ravaging impacts bark beetles are having on the state's forests.

"I am very concerned about the current state of our forests," Lummis said. "The bark beetle epidemic in Wyoming has already destroyed millions of acres of adult forests. Forty percent of the Bridger-Teton National Forest has been destroyed since 1991. Forest managers estimate that by 2012, every single adult lodge pole pine in southern Wyoming and northern Colorado will be destroyed by beetle kill. This is devastating to our forests and our forest economies. It is also downright dangerous as we enter another wild fire season."

"To some, forestry policy is an academic exercise; a way to experiment with grand theories about the role of fire or disease in the management of forests. To people in Wyoming, federal forestry policy is so much more. Decisions about fuel reduction, beetle prevention and mitigation, prompt harvesting of dead and dying trees, and the overall health of our forests have real, tangible effects on our livelihood."

"We live near or even in these forests, we base entire industries off of them, we recreate and enjoy them, and we count on these forests to attract thousands of tourists every year. Healthy forests are integral to our lives and livelihoods. For Wyoming's forests, we can no longer wait. Our forests are crying out for help now."

Wyoming is home to nine national forests, encompassing about 8.8 million acres of land. Put into context, national forests in Wyoming cover about a million more acres than the total land areas of Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia combined.

Lummis also spoke about the role woody biomass could play in federal forest policy.

"By expanding the renewable fuel standards to include woody biomass, we can improve forest health while we diversify our nation's energy portfolio. Rural logging industries, impacted by the decline in logging, might also benefit from allowing feedstock from federal lands to qualify as advanced biofuels. A bill that I am supporting, H.R. 1190 will do just that."

Jim Neiman, owner of the last operating sawmill in Wyoming, located in Hulett, also testified at the hearing.

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