U.S. House committee hears strong support for Walden's forest access legislation

U.S. House committee hears strong support for Walden’s forest access legislation 

Click here or on the image below to watch the committee hearing

WASHINGTON, D.C.  — Members of Congress today heard strong support for local control over forest access decisions during a hearing on the Forest Access in Rural Communities Act (H.R. 4272), a bill authored by U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Hood River). An influential House committee with jurisdiction over public lands policy heard statements from Walden and Union County Commissioner Steve McClure as support for the legislation continues to grow in Oregon and in Congress.

“Since the Forest Service first announced they were going to start this process, I have worked with county commissioners and the local residents who enjoy driving, riding, camping, cutting firewood and picking berries on their National Forest to craft this legislation to ensure local communities have a say in forest access decisions,” Walden told the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation.

“This legislation puts a stop to the flawed travel management planning rule that applied a one-size fits all approach for road management on every community. For future proposals that result in a road closure or access restriction, it requires the Forest Service to consult during the planning process, and seek concurrence from the counties within which the road closure occurs, and the neighboring counties, before the project can be implemented. Doing so levels the playing field and ensures that the local residents and communities, those most affected by these management decisions, have a strong say and aren’t ignored in the process,” Walden continued. Click here for Walden’s full statement as prepared for delivery.

Union County Commissioner Steve McClure testified in support of the bill based on the experience of eastern Oregon counties with the Wallowa-Whitman travel management plan. “Our experience with the Wallowa-Whitman travel management plan clearly shows the need for H.R. 4272 which provides a chance to restore local control over these planning processes and ensure that local communities, and their needs and uses are not ignored. It is important that the counties not only participate but that there is an agreement between the Forest Service and the communities,” McClure said. Click here to read his full testimony.

Support for the FAIR Act continues to grow, with five Oregon counties submitting letters of support to the committee: Baker, Grant, Umatilla, Union, and Wallowa.

The bill has also been endorsed by Forest Access for All, the Eastern Oregon All Terrain Association, the Association of Oregon Counties, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the Public Lands Council, the American Motorcyclist Association, the American Council of Snowmobile Associations, and the Oregon State Snowmobile Association. Walden entered each of these letters into the official congressional record.

Walden’s bill has also picked up support from his colleagues in the House since it was introduced in March. It currently has seven cosponsors: Reps. Mark Amodei (R-NV), Rob Bishop (R-UT), Tom McClintock (R-CA), Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-WA), Steve Pearce (R-NM), Mike Simpson (R-ID), and Don Young (R-AK).