U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin pushing for federal forest management reform
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin saw enough on her visit to Forest County in August to be convinced that Wisconsin’s 1.5 million-acre national forest is being under-harvested and change is needed.
The first-term Democratic senator now says supporting the state’s timber industry is among her top priorities and she pledged to work for reform of the forest management system. Her efforts include calling for increased funding to support additional logging and clarifying regulations to promote environmentally sound harvesting.
“Our forests and the timber industry in central and northern Wisconsin are facing a number of challenges that need to be addressed,” Baldwin said. “I am committed to working across party lines, with the National Forest Service and with other stakeholders in Wisconsin to create a more stable supply of timber from our federal forest lands, while sustainably managing our forest resources…”
Northwoods economic advocates said Baldwin’s support is a positive signal for increased logging within the National Forest.
A series by Gannett Wisconsin Media’s investigative team in October chronicled the unique hardwood market in the state and problems it faces within the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.
Records showed that the U.S. Forest Service could have cut 1.3 billion board feet of wood in the past decade under its forest management plan, representing $110 million in revenue. Instead, just 755 million board feet was cut in the forest that spans 11 Wisconsin counties.
National forest officials say a lack of federal money has limited their ability to harvest more timber in the Northwoods. Foreign competition, mechanization and volatile markets have also led to decreases in jobs tied to forest products across Wisconsin.
In December, Gov. Scott Walker said the national forest was being “underutilized” and launched a new $49,000 initiative from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. to begin studying stewardship programs.
Baldwin positioned to have impact
Baldwin sits on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, allowing her to play a key role in forest policy change.
In December, she called on the Obama Administration to build a new budget plan into the 2015 budget to break the “diversion cycle.”
The October Gannett investigation found that the federal government has diverted more than $2.7 billion during the past 10 years from timber restoration and road maintenance to squelch wildfires in the West — a problem cited by Baldwin in her letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Budget Director Sylvia Burwell.
“In six of the last ten years, Forest Service funds available to Wisconsin forests have been diverted through the practice of fire borrowing and reallocated to fight fires,” Baldwin wrote. “As a result, Wisconsin forest management has suffered, and an industry already stretched thin must deal with further delays to complete contracts.”
Baldwin also signed onto a letter to Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, the leaders of the natural resources committee. It called for change to both the wildfire suppression cycle and cheered an extension of the Secure Rural Schools program.
The letter had bipartisan support and was signed by Republican Sens. John Thune, R-South Dakota, and Thad Cochran, R-Mississippi, both members of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.
It did not have the support of Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson. Though he could support the wildfire portion, the schools funding didn’t meet his approval.
A spokesman for Johnson’s office said he supports reform of forest management and would use other means to convey his support than the letter.
Baldwinalso asked Farm Bill conferees to provide clarity about a clean water standard relating to forest roads and to extend support for forest stewardship contracts. The stewardship contracts push proceeds from timber sales back into local projects like road maintenance and other targeted management.
The Farm Bill, long-mired in political bickering over food stamps and divides between rural and urban representatives, could provide certainty for loggers in Wisconsin’s Northwoods by clarifying the water run-off rules and investing in stewardship and conservation programs, Baldwin said.
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