If you want to read a beautiful piece of legislation, consider reading Senate Bill 1470, the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act (tester.senate.gov/forest). In large type, it clearly addresses the issues before us with solutions that are home-grown. Thank you first to the men and women who through many meetings, over many years, came to see and respect each others’ interest. These association leaders represent the will of tens of thousands of Montanans. Thank you for showing up at the table. Sen. Tester, thank you for listening and acting. Rep. Rehberg and Sen. Baucus, please help in the effort. And finally, to the anonymous wordsmiths who pounded together words, milled phrases and planned raw sentences of this legislation to expose the grain of something truly beautiful, thank you. Now, the work that remains is to take what is beautiful and make it functional.
Passing Senate Bill 1470 will bring these words to life in our woods where we live, work, and play, where our animals graze, and from which we draw our natural wealth of lumber and clean water.
Bill Hallinan
438 Clarke St.