[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15157-15158]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           FOREST MANAGEMENT

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I just returned from a normal weekend. On 
Fridays, my wife and I usually go to Wyoming, and we come back on 
Sunday night, which actually turns out to be Monday morning by the time 
we make the trip. This time I was able to concentrate a little bit of 
time in the area just outside Yellowstone Park, on the east side of 
Yellowstone Park between Cody and the park. I was there last year.
  There was a fire inside Yellowstone Park. I wanted to see how the new 
fire plan was working. I got a very extensive and excellent tour. It 
was educational, but it pointed out some problems that need to be taken 
care of in the West.
  Of course, those problems wouldn't be quite as extensive except for 
the drought we are having. This is the third year of the drought in 
Wyoming. One of our lakes in the northern part of the State that drains 
up into Montana is dropping almost 2 feet a week. It is down 125 feet 
from its normal level. Most lakes in the Nation would be dry if they 
were down 125 feet. This one still has some water, but it doesn't have 
boating anymore. That not only affects recreation in the area; it 
affects the communities in the area because they do not get the 
revenues they would normally get from tourism and visitors.
  Ranchers are having to sell off their herds. They don't have any 
grazing because of the drought. This is the third year they have had to 
diminish their herds. Most of them are completely wiped out from that 
aspect.
  We have another little problem. That is the way the Tax Code is 
arranged. The Tax Code says if you have to do an emergency sale and you 
have some revenue in the next 2 years you can apply that so you don't 
have to pay taxes. They have been wiped out with the herds, and they 
are going to have to pay taxes because there is no revenue to take it 
against.
  There are many peripheral issues that happen with the drought.
  We need to concentrate in this body on fire prevention in our 
forests. This is what some of the forests look like right now--just 
tremendous blazes. You can see the way the tinder lays up in layers. It 
forms a chimney, and it goes to the top of really big trees. When it 
gets to the top of the trees, the fire itself creates a wind. The wind 
will sway the trees, and the trees throw the crown a half mile away to 
start another fire. Once a fire starts, it can be very extensive.
  We have a new plan that says put it out as soon as you can. That is 
helping tremendously. We used to let it burn. We tried to do some of 
what they call natural foresting. When natural foresting was actually 
natural foresting, there weren't people inhabiting those areas.
  In this particular area near Yellowstone, there is a huge pine needle 
forest because of pine bores. They bore into the trees when they are 
young. They eat a circle around the tree, and it kills the tree. Then 
the tree looks rusty. The next year and the year after, all the needles 
are gone, and it is just a standing dead pine tree.
  Of course, the best time for it to burn is when it is all rusty. When 
the needles are dried out and they burn, they form a chimney effect, 
going up to the top of the tree. That is how huge parts of the forests 
are between Yellowstone Park and Cody, WY, right now.
  Those trees need to be taken out. If they are not taken out, a Boy 
Scout camp, 12 lodges, and 68 homes will go up in smoke.
  Last year, when there was a fire in the park, they pointed out the 
pine needle forest and the need to get those trees taken out. I have 
been working on that since then. We haven't been able to get it done. 
There are a few very easy court actions that can prohibit that sort of 
thing from happening. But it is absolutely essential.
  Those lodges have post-evacuation plans. As the fire starts, they 
have to call all their guests in and explain how they are going to be 
able to get out of this valley to keep from being trapped by the fires, 
fires such as these where you can see the animals are having a little 
bit of concern about how they could be trapped by the fire.
  That cuts into the tourism. People don't go home and tell about the 
great experience they had. They go home and tell about the extreme 
pressure they were under with fires. Consequently, they spread the 
advertising in a very negative way. We want it to be in a positive way.
  There are things that can be done and that should be done. I will be 
taking some more time to explain what they are and steps that are being 
taken by the Forest Service at the moment. But more extensive steps 
need to be taken.
  Senator Daschle has an amendment on a supplemental spending bill to 
take care of some of the problems bordering Wyoming in the Black Hills. 
It very explicitly allows them to go in and cut down those trees, which 
will reduce the amount of tinder. There are some ways that we can do 
that.
  I introduced a bill, S. 2811, the Emergency Forest Rescue Act of 
2002. That gives the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior the 
ability to recognize emergency conditions that exist in the forests and 
allows the land managers to act to protect them from the extreme threat 
of fire, specifically those suffering from drought and high tree 
mortality. Those two circumstances have to be present. It also requires 
the approval of the Council on Environmental Quality.
  I have some protections built in and some ability to move forward 
quickly

[[Page 15158]]

so we don't burn up huge valleys and extend the fire into Yellowstone 
Park, which is one of our great natural treasures. In fact, all of our 
forests should be national treasures. Present conditions do not make 
them as usable as they could be or as pretty as they could be.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, how much time remains?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator has 20 minutes under 
the order.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 15 
minutes.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I believe the Senator from Alaska would 
like to use the last 5 minutes. I ask unanimous consent that he be 
recognized for the final 5 minutes.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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