[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 35 (Wednesday, March 25, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E463]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
U.S. FOREST SERVICE POLICY
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HON. RICK HILL
of montana
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, March 25, 1998
Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, something has gone haywire at the U.S. Forest
Service.
In published news reports, and in testimony before the House
Resources Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health, it is clear that
the agency is pursuing forest policies which are driven by politics and
public relations rather than science and common-sense. I have to agree
with subcommittee Chairman Helen Chenoweth of Idaho that the Forest
Service's top-down policies have more to do with the 2000 presidential
campaign than responsible national forest management.
What has been recently imposed in our forests is a moratorium on
management. The hands of local forest managers have been tied. Combined
with the recent weather trends in my home State of Montana, this lack
of local management is a recipe for disaster during this upcoming fire
season.
A recent article in the newsletter Conservation News (March 23, 1998)
entitled ``Sportsmen being excluded from public lands, House panel is
told'' is a clear example of the emerging agenda of the Clinton/Gore
Administration and how they are using our forests in the most cynical
way possible.
Sportsmen Being Excluded From Public Lands, House Panel Is Told
chenoweth hits `media manipulation' plan
Sportsmen are increasingly being denied the right to enter
public lands, Safari Club International told a House
subcommittee last week.
Before the U.S. Forest Service is permitted to pursue its
planned moratorium on forest road construction, Congress
should require that the agency publish a list of all road
closings in the last 10 years, the group told the forest and
forest health subcommittee.
``We want to insure that this new effort does not further
erode an already diminishing access to recreational
opportunity on public lands,'' said Ron Marlenee, Safari
Club's government affairs consultant. ``Increasingly,
sportsmen are coming up against pole gates, gates, barriers
and `no motorized vehicles' signs when they arrive at the
edge of public property,'' he told a hearing.
The hearing was the second in two weeks to consider the
Forest Service's proposal to impose an 18-month moratorium on
the construction of roads in so-called ``roadless'' areas.
The scheme has drawn angry protests from westerners, with
several congressional chairmen threatening to slash the
Service's 1999 budget (See Conservation News, March 9, page
1).
The focus of last week's hearing was H.R. 3297, which would
suspend the continued development of a roadless area policy
by the Service until public hearings are conducted on all
Forest Service units nationwide. As of late last week, the
measure had 24 co-sponsors.
Subcommittee Chairman Helen Chenoweth (R-Idaho) again
blasted the Clinton Administration for its forest policies.
She referred to a recent Washington Post article about a
Forest Service communication plan to promote its agenda.
``It's a detailed strategy on how to manipulate the media and
everyone else to get support for the administration policies
over the next eight months,'' the article stated.
The article quotes the plan as proposing to have Service
Chief Mike Dombeck traveling to spectacular forest fires to
gain media coverage.
``We now have seen a copy of Chief Dombeck's PR plan which
was reported in the press,'' Chenoweth told the hearing.
``After reading it, I am left to question, Where does the
Forest Service get the legislative authority to manipulate
the press and others to promote their agenda? '' she asked.
``I am also left to wonder where Chief Dombeck gets the
legislative authority to use this once proud agency--and I
stress once proud agency--to take `every opportunity to tie
with the vice president's Clean Water Initiative and indeed
provide a media event for the VP? ' '' Chenoweth said,
quoting from the plan.
She claimed that, ``rather than protect the forest
environment, Chief Dombeck has allowed the Forest Service to
be used as a tool of the Clinton-Gore Administration to gain
partisan political advantage and promote Vice President
Gore's presidential aspirations.
``This blatant use of the Forest Service for strictly
partisan political purposes will not be tolerated,''
Chenoweth said. ``It is unthinkable to utilize catastrophic
fire and the resulting devastation to human life and the
environment for partisan political gain and to promote Vice
President Gore's presidential aspirations.''
The Safari Club's Marlenee suggested a hidden agenda in the
roads proposal. ``In an effort to further justify road
closures, the Forest Service implies that hunting in the
forest system is having negative impact on wildlife,'' he
testified. ``They contend that access has led to `increased
pressure on wildlife species from hunters and fishers,' '' he
said, quoting an agency notice.
``My experience has been that the Forest Service consults
extensively with state wildlife agencies and that the
jurisdiction of wildlife and hunting is primarily a state
right and responsibility,'' Marlenee continued.
``Because the Forest Service allegation appears in their
public document, because it impugns the role of hunting in
conservation, and because it denigrates the capability of
state wildlife management, I would suggest this committee
require the Forest Service to name even one state wildlife
agency that is not fulfilling (its) obligations. We know of
none and resent the fact this ill-thought-out statement is
being used to justify closure considerations that could be
harmful to sportsmen and to wildlife management,'' he said.
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