Sen. Jon Tester reported progress on his Forest
Jobs and Recreation bill, affirmed support for Secure Rural Schools,
and again tried to quash the rumor about a federal land lockup in
Montana.

He made the remarks during his monthly teleconference with Montana newspaper reporters on Thursday morning.

Sen. Tester said he recently held a productive breakfast meeting
with chairman Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) about moving the bill out of
the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee . "We've got the
Forest Service on board working to get some language squared away," he
said, noting that the bill is getting closer to passage every day.
"Every once in a while we get a hiccup and wonder if we can pull this
through."

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) is promoting a similar bill, and both senators presented their visions for their bills at the meeting.

Tester emphasized that he would not move his bill unless it includes
all four components agreed upon by the collaborative group of Montanans
who spent five years crafting the bill: wilderness, restoration,
logging, and recreation.

"If at the end it is missing any of those components, then the bill
will not move. I think they're all very important," he said.

He took issue with critics who say the logging portion of the bill is not sustainable.

"We're talking about three million acres of trees and 10,000 acres that
will be cut," he said. "Ten thousand acres in three million. You can do
the math, but it ain't much of a percentage."

It is one third of one percent.

As Montana enters into its summer wildland fire season, he said the bill would help protect residents.

"It's time everybody understands this stuff," he said. "When that
understory dries up, that really creates a potential for forest fires."

Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell testified recently that the agency has
18,000 firefighters ready this summer. But Tester added that he wished
they could use some of the treatment provisions in the Forest Jobs bill
right now. The bill's provisions for mechanical treatments would help
to remove the dead and dying timber and reduce the fire hazard. "We
need to get it passed, that's why we're fighting so hard to do it," he
said.

Forest Jobs will also help save money, as the reclamation projects that
rebuild streams and improve wildlife habitat will also help with
financial sustainability, he said.

Other critics of the bill have questioned whether there is a market for the timber cut mandated.

"It's a chicken and egg kind of a thing," the senator explained. A
mandate that the Forest Service must log 10,000 acres a year creates a
market. Not all of the acreage will produce construction grade lumber
such as plywood and two-by-fours, he pointed out. But a guaranteed
supply could persuade businesses to invest in biomass, biochar, and
energy production.

"A lot of folks want to do biochar, create electricity from wood
products, make pellets out of wood products. They can't do it without a
dependable supply," he said.

He reaffirmed his support for the Secure Rural Schools legislation. "I
can tell you I'm very much in support of the money there for forest
counties," he said. Failure to pass the bill would "raise havoc with
your schools," he noted.

Tester said he enjoyed meeting on Secure Rural Schools with Mineral
County Commissioner Duane Simons and the rest of the Montana
delegation. "They came back and made a nice presentation," he said.
"One of the things they've done this year is reach out to other areas
of the country. They've got the Southeast in on it, they've got the
Midwest in on it."

He said he appreciates Montanans coming to visit Washington D.C., and
is amazed by how active the Montana citizenry is in its government.
Every Wednesday, the muffins and coffee breakfast that he co-sponsors
with Sen. Max Baucus gets "an incredible turnout," he said.

Sen. Tester again tried to quash a rumor that Interior Secretary Ken
Salazar has a secret plan to designate national monuments in Montana
and restrict uses. Among others, Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg has called
for the release of internal documents.

"Those documents are going to be released," Sen. Tester said in
response to a question from the Chronicle. "Interior has released them
all, I think. It's good they're releasing them all. Transparency in
government is something I believe strongly in. Any time you get
information out there, it will only help."

The senator's teleconference was scheduled during a historic day in in
the Senate, as Congress and the public paid respects to the flag-draped
coffin of the late Sen. Robert Byrd, the first to lie in repose in the
chamber since 1959.

"He was the longest serving senator in U.S. history," Sen. Tester said.
"He set an incredible example. He knew the Constitution like the back
of his hand."

Tester said, "I feel blessed personally that I had the opportunity to serve with Senator Robert Carlyle Byrd."
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