Natural Resources

Last week, the Alliance for the Wild Rockies’ Michael Garrity issued a response to Rep. Ryan Zinke’s August 11 guest column (see copy on this page) about his forest reform bill. In his response, Garrity said “Zinke claimed that we have spotted owls in Montana and that logging somehow prevents forest fires.” However, a quick review of Zinke’s column indicates he actually wrote: “Frivolous lawsuits are at the heart of forest reform. The Alliance for the Wild Rockies launched more than 150 predatory lawsuits targeting legal and healthy forest projects in just the last 10 years alone. During one such project they litigated on the grounds of preserving spotted owl habitat, the forest actually caught fire and burned down for a second time during the time it took to try the case, destroying the entire area, along with the owl’s habitat.”

Lincoln County's Congressional representative issued a statement Friday, expressing his support for a bill that will allow some changes in national forest management.

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, believes he has the cure for 58 million ailing acres of forests in the nation, and the majority of his colleagues agree with the fix.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that could lead to an expansive overhaul of the way national forests are managed.

Wranglings over Iran and Cuba were at the forefront of the debate this week among the state’s Congressional delegation. Meanwhile, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., introduced a bill dealing with illegal immigration in the aftermath of a brutal murder in San Francisco earlier this month.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved legislation sponsored by U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman designed to increase timber harvests and reduce the chance of fires in the nation's forests.