NLBMDA cheers on the Resilient Federal Forests Act

The NLBMDA had nice things to say about the reintroduction of the Resilient Federal Forests Act, which previously passed in the House in 2015 under the name Emergency Wildfire and Forest Management Act (H.R. 2647) by a vote of 262-167.

The Resilient Federal Forests Act (H.R. 2936) is being reintroduced by Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), who originally brought the legislation to Congress in 2015.

The legislation aims to reduce the threat of wildfires and was originally cosponsored by Reps. Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho), Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), Rick Nolan (D-Minn.), Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), and Scott Tipton (R-Colo.).

"The Resilient Federal Forests Act strikes a balanced approach in managing the national forest system by making more land available for logging in an environmentally sustainable way," said Jonathan Paine, NLBMDA president and CEO. "NLBMDA thanks Congressman Westerman for his leadership on this important issue."

According to the NLBMDA, the U.S. Forest Service manages more than 190 million acres, 46 million of which are permitted for use as timber harvest. Timber harvests from federal forests declined by 78% between 1987 and 2015, from 11.3 to 2.5 billion board — far below the capability of these lands of 12.2 billion board feet per year.

The NLBMDA said that poor land management during the past 30 years has led to declining health of national forests, resulting in fewer jobs, fewer board feet of domestically produced lumber entering the market, and a marked increase in acreage ravaged by insects, disease and fire.

"NLBMDA supports greater sustainable harvesting of federal forests to meet long-term demand for lumber as part of a comprehensive plan that does not place U.S. private forests at a competitive disadvantage," the organization said.