[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 92 (Wednesday, June 10, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E866]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         NATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2015

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. BRENDA L. LAWRENCE

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 9, 2015

  Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, as we vote on the bipartisan bill, H.R. 
2394, in the House today, I would like to acknowledge the positive 
impact that our National Forest System has had in my home state of 
Michigan and throughout our great nation. Comprised of the United 
States Forest Service and the non-profit National Forest Foundation, 
our National Forest system encompasses 193 million acres of wilderness. 
These forests nourish a variety of animal and plant species, provide a 
wide array of recreational opportunities, and pump $13.5 billion 
annually into the U.S. economy.
  I am encouraged to see the bipartisan consensus around preserving our 
forests. In Michigan, the work done by the National Forest System has 
helped preserve two different habitats. In the Hiawatha National Forest 
on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, workers helped plant more than 96,000 
White Pine, Northern Red Oak and Hemlock trees to replenish the 
disappearing forest in 2012. Additionally, the national forest system 
helped lead a coalition to repair the disappearing habitat of the 
Kirtland's Warbler. In 2011, Forest workers planted 180,000 Jack Pine 
seedlings to help re-populate that species of tree, which is required 
for the Warbler to produce its offspring. Now, thanks to their efforts, 
the Kirtland's Warbler population is much more robust within the Huron 
and Manistee National Forests.
  The important contributions made by the National Forest Foundation 
must not be overlooked, and I wholeheartedly support the program's 
reauthorization. Our forests are an incredible economic, environmental, 
and recreational resource for our country. We must remain steadfast and 
continue the work of preserving these forests and all of the majestic 
wonders contained within them for not only those alive today, but for 
all future generations of Americans.

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