[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 154 (Tuesday, September 26, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H7498]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
                HIGHLIGHTING EFFECTIVE FOREST MANAGEMENT

  (Mr. GIANFORTE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GIANFORTE. Mr. Speaker, imagine if the entire State of Delaware 
burned. That is the scope of what has burned in Montana this year--1.25 
million acres of our beautiful State.
  I have been on the ground at five fires this summer and I have seen 
firsthand the result of failing to manage our forests--over 1 million 
acres have burned, livelihoods threatened, wildlife habitats destroyed, 
and dangerous air quality in our communities.
  I have also seen effective forest management. Last week, I went into 
the field with BLM officials to see a forest they manage. When BLM 
treated a forest, an approaching fire dropped into the underbrush and 
was quickly extinguished. All trees in the treated forest lived, but 
trees in the untreated forest died and it won't recover in our 
lifetime.
  We need to be proactive and start managing our forests again. Well-
managed forests are healthier forests with more wildlife, more hunting, 
more good-paying jobs for Montanans, and, importantly, our wildfires 
are less severe.
  On the heels of the catastrophic fires this summer, now is the time 
to enact real reform and start managing our forests again.

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