Source: United States Senator for Montana Steve Daines
04.22.22
U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today issued the following statement on President Biden’s Earth Day Executive Order that diverts resources from actual conservation work and sets the stage for further restrictions and prohibitions on public lands.
“Once again, the Biden administration is failing to address the underlying issues affecting Montana’s forests and threatening communities while demonstrating a lack of understanding on the many complexities surrounding effective forest management,” Daines said. “More paperwork and red tape is not the way to create healthier ecosystems, support rural communities, or meet our environmental objectives—the answer is forest management. Sadly, the Biden administration seems to care more about grabbing headlines and appeasing woke green groups than he does about real conservation in our forests.”
Read more about Biden’s executive order HERE.
In February 2022, Dave Sheets, owner of DSJr. Trucking in Greycliff, Montana discussed the importance of forest management for healthy landscapes and communities in Montana and expressed his gratitude for Daines’ fight to promote commonsense forest management reform.
Background:
Daines has been leading the effort to promote commonsense forest management policies in the United States Senate.
On April 19, 2022, Daines blasted President Biden’s changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) rule that make projects, including commonsense forest management and Montana mining, harder and more expensive.
On February 14, 2022, Daines and Representative Matt Rosendale urged the Biden administration to resolve challenges stemming from the disastrous Cottonwood decision which threatens Montana forest management projects.
On October 21, 2021, two of Daines’ forest management reform bills were discussed at a U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing.
On October 4, 2021, Daines called on the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to do more to reach its timber harvest goals in Montana after falling short by 30% in fiscal year 2021, due in large part to increased litigation and red tape following the Cottonwood decision.
On August 2, 2021, Daines reintroduced the “Protect Collaboration for Healthier Forests Act” to protect much needed and collaboratively-developed forest management projects that reduce the risk of wildfire in our National Forests from court room obstructionists.
On July 22, 2021, Daines introduced legislation that would increase active forest management to prevent deadly wildfires in Montana.
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Contact: Rachel Dumke, Katie Schoettler