BILLINGS - (April 29, 2010) Members of the Montana Forests Coalition will present information and answer questions on Senator Jon Tester's Forest Jobs and Recreation Act at two different events on Tuesday May 4. Members will present at the Billings Conservation Round Table from noon to 1 p.m. at the First Interstate Bank Operations Center, on the corner of 6th Avenue North and 18th Street.
Members of the coalition will also present information in the evening at an event hosted by the Montana Wilderness Association's Eastern Wildlands Chapter. The evening presentation is at 7 p.m. in the Lewis and Clark room in the MSU Billings Student Union building. Both presentations will have a question and answer session and are free and open to the public.
The Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, introduced by Montana Senator Jon Tester last year, is a progressive attempt to designate almost 700,000 acres of new wilderness and unlock the economic engine of stewardship contracting to create jobs and provide locally grown timber products.
Presenters are Tracy Stone-Manning, Missoula Field Representative for Senator Tester; Tim Baker, Legislative Campaign Director for the Montana Wilderness Association; and Tom Reed, Director of Off-Road Vehicle Policy with Trout Unlimited.
Supporting the bill are several years of collaboration among the conservation, recreation and logging community.
The legislation has enjoyed broad support throughout Montana from diverse groups and individuals and recently received a boost when Tom Vilsack, the Secretary of Agriculture, parent agency of the U.S. Forest Service, commended the collaborators for their efforts. He touted this proposed as a piece of legislation that has tremendous opportunity to ensure the health of rural economies and public lands. The Secretary continues to work with Senator Tester and his staff to showcase this bill as a pilot program and ensure future successful implementation.
Senator Tester has proposed some significant amendments to the bill since its introduction to facilitate passage through committee. Senator Tester and his staff have, and continue to, spend significant time working with groups, individuals, and the agencies to ensure this bill will serve Montana well.
The bill prescribes conservation and stewardship contracting predominantly on the Beaverhead -Deerlodge National Forest, with some action on the Lolo and Kootenai National Forests.
The bill is currently in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in Washington D.C making its way through the legislative process. It's possible the legislation will be wrapped into a larger public lands omnibus bill.
For more information on this legislation please visit www.montanaforests.org
For more information on the roundtable please contact Theresa Keaveny at 406-254-1593, or tkeaveny@mtvoters.org; and for information in the evening event please contact Kristi Ponozzo at 406-443-7350, ext 105.
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