Ryan Zinke Pioneers Forest Reform

Press Release

Yesterday Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke introduced sweeping forest reform legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. H.R. 2644, The National Forest Collaborative Incentive Act of 2015, is the product of years of research, testimony, collaboration and ideas from across the industry and political spectrum. The bill aims to prevent wildfires, encourage collaborative projects in National Forests, improve conservation efforts, and discourage predatory litigation via a collection of reforms that require no new mapping, regulations nor added costs to the Forest Service or taxpayer, making the bill workable on day one. These ideas are widely supported by industry and wildlife organizations, as well as conservation experts and local governments, including the National Wild Turkey Federation, Montana Loggers Association, former Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth, and several county commissioners including, John E. Prinkki (Carbon), Dave Schulz (Madison), James P.Hart, (Madison), Ron Nye (Madison).

"In Montana our land is our way of life: its beauty and bounty provide us with world-class recreation, hunting, fishing, natural resources and economic activity. However, too often outside forces and special interests get in the way of Montana conserving our land, developing our resources, and growing our communities," said Rep. Zinke. "The National Forest Collaborative Incentive Act of 2015, will help address the two leading threats against our forests, predatory litigation and wildfires, without adding new regulations to communities and loggers or adding costs to taxpayers. By implementing common sense reforms to encourage collaboration on projects and discourage out of state special interests from waging war on Montana foresting communities, I am confident Montana can rebuild our timber industry and conserve our forests for generations to come."

Former Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth said, "Analysis paralysis has been a problem for the Forest Service for a long time. Legislation is needed to get the money and the people out on the ground restoring our forests rather than in the office, sitting behind a computer doing analysis and documentation that doesn't add to the quality of the projects. This bill is a good start and a great way to get the discussion going."

Dave Schulz, Madison County Commissioner said, "I am very encouraged of efforts by Representative Zinke and members of the House to develop the National Forest Collaborative Incentive Act of 2015. This Act provides Forest managers and collaboratives working together the tools to successfully develop and implement projects that benefit the health of our severely impacted and under managed forests across the country. Implementation of this Act also helps local leaders such as myself protect the Health, Safety and Welfare of our citizens, a duty I am sworn to uphold!"

"Responsible forest stewardship in Montana is too important to leave to judicial digression," said Keith Olson, Executive Director of the Montana Logging Association. "Congressman Zinke's bill includes common sense reforms that strengthen collaborative projects against out of state litigants and helps protect our forests from wildfires. Montana Loggers are committed to responsible and sustainable timber harvests that build local economies; Rep Zinke's reforms help us do just that."

The bill also includes key reforms to:

Prevent catastrophic wildfires;
Incentivize collaborative agreements by streamlining regulatory processes and protect such agreements against predatory lawsuits;
Allow for new funding sources for Forest Service projects that doesn't rely on federal tax dollars; and,
Modernize the Secure Rural Schools & Self-Determination Act (SRS) to grant local communities more control over their funds.

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