[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 4261]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  THE FOREST SERVICE MORATORIUM IS AN ATTACK ON ACCESS TO OUR PUBLIC 
                                FORESTS

  (Mr. HILL of Montana asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HILL of Montana. Madam Speaker, the Forest Service roads 
moratorium now in effect, defies the good common sense required to 
maintain our Nation's force.
  In essence, the administration is saying that we are going to take a 
time-out in managing our forests. In the meantime, of course, the 
problems will not wait. They only become more serious.
  This moratorium is also an attack on access to our public forests. It 
is nothing more than a sweeping mandate from Washington. This mandate 
is not designed to study our forests roads but, rather, to keep the 
American citizen out of their forests.
  A representative from the most respected sportsmen's group in 
Washington, the Safari Club, called this decision bad for sportsmen and 
other recreational users, so bad that it must have the dedicated 
professionals in the Forest Service shaking their heads.
  The Forest Service reports that 93 percent of forest road use is for 
recreational purposes, and now they are trying to lock up the very 
roads where we recreate.
  It makes no sense. I cannot understand how an agency that is directed 
to manage our forests is walking away and washing its hands of such a 
serious issue.
  This is a bad policy, Madam Speaker. It is bad for America. It is bad 
for the economy. It is bad for the forests and it is bad for the 
citizens.
  The question is, who is it good for?

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