It would be nice if active forest management on the National Forests were possible in Montana. Sen. Tester's "Jobs and Recreation Act" seems like a good starting point.
As a forester and forest land owner, I support Tester's legislation. While I have not been directly involved in the community efforts that led to its development, I do gain my livelihood from the forest and have done so for over 30 years. Timber has put food on my family's table and has paid for my children to attend colleges in Montana. I enjoy the many forest amenities available when my family, my friends and I have access to healthy forests. I view this legislation as a first step on a relatively small portion of Montana's forests to a better era for forest land management.
If it can bring forest management forward here, it can be a template for similar progress elsewhere. If all goes well, it may allow the U.S. Forest Service to get busy thinning he nation's forests, cleaning up threatening fuels and making conditions more favorable to support healthy trees - the same things now advised for private forest owners to do. I urge all Montanans to give their support to this effort and to this bill sponsored by Jon Tester.
Jerry Furtney
Townsend