Letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein - Timber Sale Program

Letter

U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, last week led a bipartisan effort to block an Obama Administration proposal to eliminate the timber sale program on the Ouachita and Ozark-St. Francis National Forests.

"Simply put, the recommended changes go too far, too fast, and will likely cause further disruption to our already struggling timber communities," Lincoln said. "The timber industry is a vital piece of Arkansas's economy, accounting for more than 29,000 jobs and more than $1.4 billion in annual payroll income. These proposed changes would only harm an industry already struggling."

Lincoln, along with a bipartisan group of 13 Senators, called on the Senate Appropriations Committee to block the administration's proposed budget changes and support active forest management.

Full text of the letter is below.

February 26, 2010

The Honorable Dianne Feinstein
Chairman, Interior Appropriations Subcommittee
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Feinstein:

As Senators representing states which depend on National Forest timber to sustain our local wood using industries, we are opposed to the drastic changes to the Forest Products program recommended in the Administration's proposed Fiscal Year 2011 Budget. Simply put, the recommended changes go too far, too fast, and will likely cause further disruption to our already struggling timber communities.

We agree that the Forest Service must use innovative approaches to achieve forest restoration. We believe Congress has provided the Forest Service ample authorities to demonstrate integrated resource restoration on a pilot basis in Fiscal Year 2011. We support identifying a percentage of the Watershed, Hazardous Fuels Reduction, and Forest Products programs to create several pilot programs around the country to demonstrate the forest restoration approach suggested in the President's budget. We recommend retaining at least a base program for the Forest Products line item to signal continued support for the wood products industry and the thousands of people who depend on it for their livelihood.

We appreciate the Administration's efforts to find innovative ways of restoring forests, watersheds, and rural communities. We believe strongly that traditional forest products must play a role in those restoration efforts. In order to help sustain the industry to help meet those needs, we urge you to maintain or increase funding for timber output in the FY2011 Interior Appropriations Bill and show a clear commitment to the working men and women in our forest products facilities.

Sincerely,

Blanche Lincoln
Max Baucus
Tim Johnson
Mike Enzi
Mark Pryor
Mike Crapo
Mark Udall
Mark Begich
James Risch
John Thune
John Barrasso
Amy Klobuchar
Lisa Murkowski
Debbie Stabenow