House approves forest bill

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill that would, in some cases, require groups and individuals to pay bonds before filing lawsuits against timber projects. The Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2015...passed the House 262-167. Under the proposed law, an environmental group suing the U.S. Forest Service over a proposed forest project would have to pay a bond if the project was developed through a collaborative stakeholder process and the litigant was not involved in the collaboration. If the plaintiffs lose, the bond would be forfeited to the Forest Service to cover the costs of defending against the litigation. The bill also includes measures intended to reform the way the Forest Service manages forest fires. It would provide more flexibility for the agency to thin fuels from tracts of federal forest lands, while also increasing eligibility for wildfires to qualify for emergency funding from the federal government once the Forest Service exhausts its budget. The bonding requirement generated the most debate on the House floor. Bill proponents framed it as curbing the ability of special interest groups to lodge “frivolous” lawsuits intended to delay timber projects that they say would otherwise boost forest health, reduce the risk of wildfires and help ailing timber industries in small communities. “We have a problem with litigation which basically stops the Forest Service doing their jobs in their tracks,” said Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, who is chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee and helped lead the debate in favor of the bill. However, opponents said the measure would roll back some guarantees afforded to individuals and interest groups under the Equal Access to Justice Act, which requires the government to pay attorney fees to the prevailing party in a lawsuit...more

 Congressman Pearce released the following statement in response to the passage of the bill:

“This bill is a step in the right direction in ensuring that our national forests are properly managed and cared for,” said Pearce. “The Forest Service has failed to carry out its duty to properly thin and care for our national forests. The result is a lack of timber production, heavily over grown forests, and national forests that are at risk of catastrophic wildfires, which threaten environmental conditions as well as New Mexico communities. This bill will streamline environmental reviews that take years before healthy forest management practices can occur and works to prevent radical lawsuits that have stalled crucial thinning projects across the west.  The bill reduces county dependence on federal funding by returning a share of forest receipts paid from long term stewardship projects to counties. I urge the Senate and the President to take action on this issue as quickly as possible to improve forest health.”