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 Congressman Steve Daines today highlighted the devastating impact of frivolous litigation by fringe groups on preventing active management of Forest Service lands, pressing the House Natural Resources Committee to pursue reforms that reduce the prevalence of frivolous litigation.

“Responsible stewardship on Forest Service lands by companies like Stoltze continues to be held back by frivolous litigation by fringe environmental groups,” Daines stated.“It is overwhelmingly evident that reforms are needed to protect the health of our forests, the safety of our communities, our watersheds, and the strength of our timber industry, which is jobs – it’s of great importance to our state’s economy.”

During today’s Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation hearing on “Wildfire and Forest Management,” Daines noted that in FY 2012 and this year so far, of the 124 projects in Region 1, which encompasses Forest Service land in Montana and Idaho, 40 percent had been appealed or litigated. In fact, the projects that many constituents spend hundreds of hours working through in good faith collaborative effort with many stakeholders have been appealed or litigated.

When asked by Daines what role lawsuits play in prohibiting responsible, collaborative timber sales and healthy forest management, U.S. Forest Service Deputy Chief Jim Hubbard stated:

“In your part of the country—south-central Montana in particular— a huge role. It has virtually shut things down on the National Forest, and so environmental clearance there, collaborative or not, has been difficult.”

Daines also welcomed Chuck Roady, the Vice President and General Manager of F. H. Stoltze Land and Lumber in Columbia Falls, Montana, who testified before the Subcommittee today on the importance of active forest management in maintaining healthy forests and reducing wildfire risk.  Roady’s full written testimony may be found here.

“Our mill, like many others throughout the country, was originally established to be located close to an abundant supply of timber growing on federal public lands,” Roady stated during his opening testimony.“Unfortunately, over the last 30 years, the management philosophy on our federal lands has lost its focus and has become increasingly passive.”

During his testimony, Roady also spoke of the implications of “endless litigation.”

“The lack of management we see on our federal forests is a result of both a conscious decision to reduce the harvest as part of the revised forest management plans, as well as the result of an aggressive campaign of litigation,” Roady continued. “Make no mistake. These serial litigants do not sue the federal government because they have this heartfelt love of the land or a fondness for a specific bird, fish or wildlife. They sue because they’ve learned how to control, manipulate and profit financially through the court systems. The endless litigation is what leads the Forest Service to spend over $350 million annually on their NEPA analysis, rather than designing, implementing, and completing badly needed forest health projects. We need some form of legislative litigation relief on our national forests, and we need it to happen quick.”

During today’s hearing, Daines also held up a visual example of the role that active forest management plays in keeping forests healthy. A coaster, which Daines had received from Roady during a recent trip to the Stoltze mill, was made from a cross section of two different trees, both the same diameter.  On one side, the tree was 56 years old.  On the other, the tree was nine years old.

“Why the difference?” Daines asked.“This tree that's nine years old had responsible forest management and thinning techniques, like anybody knows who manages forests. This side did not and it’s 56 years old. So we’re going to hear more about why it's important to responsibly manage our forests because, guess what, trees grow faster and reduce fire risk.”

Roady also noted that poor forest health conditions and a lack of active management doesn’t only affect the economic and recreational value of national forests—it has also led to larger and less-controllable wildfires in recent years.

“We value the national forests for more than the economic benefits that they provide to our companies and our communities,”Roady said. “We too spend time recreating on these forests, in addition to earning our living there, and believe that the poor forest health conditions and the large wildfires that we are now witnessing on national forests are unacceptable to most Americans as well.”

“This is a nonpartisan, non-regional issue,” Roady concluded.“It’s simply the case of doing the right thing to manage our public forest. If we don’t, Mother Nature is going to do it for us and when she does it, it’s uncontrollable and catastrophic.”

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