Montana Wilderness News

Rep. Dennis Rehberg is touring the state, saying in one breath that government needs to get out of the way so small businesses can prosper -- and in the next breath that he intends to stand in the way of legislation Montana's community-based sawmills say would help them thrive.

Rehberg's opposition to the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act doesn't make sense -- at least not the way he explains it.

The FJRA was introduced by Sen. Jon Tester, and Rehberg is running against Tester in this coming November's election. Is that the real reason for Rehberg's opposition?

I sat in on two small meetings where Senator Tester’s “Forest, Jobs and Recreation Act” was reviewed and discussed. No one was quite satisfied with it because it was a compromise bill worked out with environmentalists, scientists, and included the timber industry.

As timber mill owners and managers in Montana, we’re disappointed that the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, a bill to create jobs for loggers and mill workers, was prevented from passing in Congress last week. Hundreds of workers in our mills, along with hundreds of independent contractors and vendors we work with, all supporting hundreds of families and whole communities throughout Western Montana, are disappointed by congressional inaction on this bill.

“The American frontier has closed.” These words echo more true than ever since Fredric Jackson Turner said them in 1893. There is no more land to be found, thus, effective management of the areas that humanity has not overwhelmingly penetrated becomes an issue of massive importance. Sen. Jon Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, I believe, puts forth a responsible method for maintaining some level of economic dependence on our public land by local communities and balances it with the immediate need for common-sense wilderness protection.

It is heartening to see the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act move forward as part of the Interior Appropriations bill. I hope the Senate and House of Representatives act with courage and conviction and pass this timely piece of legislation.

Count me in Dale Bosworth’s camp as one who would like to acknowledge the dedication and commitment of Senator Tester to this long overdue solution to the stalemate and inaction that has plagued Montana for too many decades, way too many!

I served as Regional Forester for the Forest Service here in Montana and as the Chief of the Forest Service in Washington, D.C. Over the years, I have watched how the heavy traffic of opinion about public land management has grown more and more contentious, until our management processes resemble traffic jams. As so much comes to a halt, our forests suffer.

More recently however, I've found cause for encouragement in the local community partnerships on three national forests in Montana, partnerships that laid the groundwork for Sen. Jon Tester's Forest Jobs and Recreation Act.

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester's Forest Jobs and Restoration Act is included in the Senate's Interior Department appropriations bill, giving it a chance of passage in the 2012 federal budget.

The bill provides annual funding for the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Indian Affairs and U.S. Forest Service wildland fire management.

The 183-page bill was released Friday.

Last summer I took my 2-year-old daughter fishing on Rock Creek
- her first foray on this blue-ribbon trout stream, one that my
father had taken me to. We kept two brown trout for dinner. As I
was preparing the pan I let her fondle the fish. I looked down and
told her that we would be eating them for dinner. She looked at the
fish she was holding, looked at me, and then took a big ol' chomp
out of one of the trout. I exclaimed, "Cid, we gotta cook 'em
first!" She just looked up at me and smiled.

By Luke Morgan Allgeyer - Letter to the Editor | Posted: Friday, June 10, 2011 12:00 am

When polled, visitors to Montana cite clean water, clean air,
wildlife, scenic vistas and open space as their top five reasons
for visiting the state - five reasons that all stem from Montana's
wild places. Furthermore, beyond the realm of tourism, most, if not
all, members of the state's various communities have something to
be thankful for regarding Montana's wilderness.

As the 112th Congress convened, Sen. Jon Tester reintroduced the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act as Senate Bill 268. The bill was first introduced in July 2009. Sen. Tester has dedicated nearly two years crafting a piece of legislation emphasizing forest restoration, job creation, enhanced recreation and wilderness designation. Through unprecedented public involvement, repeated revisions and transparency, Tester has delivered a bill to Washington that embodies Montana's traditional land values and current need for healthy forests.