Farm bill, budget agreement bode well for Wisconsin's forests

After lobbying for pieces of legislation aimed at Wisconsin’s national forest, the state’s Congressional delegation said the farm bill and budget bill provide some help for timber management.

The nation’s farm bill, signed Feb. 7 by President Barack Obama, includes a provision that clarifies that forest managers and loggers can continue to use forest roads without getting a permit for problematic run-off, a clarification pushed by Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Madison and Green Bay-area Republican Rep. Reid Ribble.

Both policy in the farm bill and new funding in the country’s budget should provide some immediate relief to a strained forest budget to both harvest more wood, and accomplish management goals that have fallen short, according to timber advocates in the state.

“I’m pleased that the Farm Bill makes important investments in our forest industry, creating new economic opportunities for forestry and providing the tools our land managers and the Forest Service need to manage our working forests,” Baldwin said.

A series by Gannett Wisconsin Media’s Investigative Team in October showed that the U.S. Forest Service cut just 755 million board feet of its allowable 1.3 billion board foot cap in the last decade within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest — a figure loggers say is crippling the northern economy.

The farm bill includes a “Good Neighbor Authority” which will allow states workers to provide additional management support, said Jim Schuessler, head of the Forest County Economic Development. That should allow for more harvesting, along with some other provisions.

“Another important thing is the re-authorization of stewardship contracting,” Schuessler said. “That will allow for long-term restoration projects.”

Stewardship contracting allows for private organizations to sign long-term deals with the government for specific timber goals, like reducing wildland fire risk and improving forest health.

Forest officials said the permanent authorization for stewardship will make a positive impact in Wisconsin where third-party forest managers and loggers are ready to move wood.

With his ‘yes’ vote on the farm bill, Republican Rep. Sean Duffy of Wausau, said the legislation helps loggers, but more must be done to reform forest management. He represents the 11 counties that include the national forest.

“We’re cutting just over half of what the Forest Service says is allowable in a system that should be self-sustaining,” Duffy told Gannett Wisconsin Media. “The answer that the Forest Service is underfunded doesn’t hold water. This should be a money-making enterprise.

During President Obama’s State of the Union Jan. 28, Duffy’s staff posted a video online of the northern Wisconsin congressman calling on the president to “open up the national forests.”

Duffy said the state’s forest products industry is ripe for job growth, but needs more timber to feed flooring and pallet mills.

“If we could double the sales of wood out of the national forest it would have a huge impact on the economy and wouldn’t cost a dollar — it’s another bureaucracy,” Duffy said. “What’s frustrating is we know how to manage the forest, and we’re not doing it effectively and it’s costing us jobs.”

Duffy, a competitive lumberjack himself, praised the work by Baldwin to push for forest reform and pledged to continue in 2014 with pushing the Forest Service to allow for more harvest.

“This issue cuts across party lines and this industry has a special place in my heart,” Duffy said. “The fight is on. Once this industry is gone you can’t just pop it back open. I’ll fight as hard as I can to keep the industry alive.”