Under attack by some environmentalists, ranchers and outdoor recreational groups, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., on Wednesday defended his ambitious plan to rescue Montana's flagging timber industry by opening thousands of acres of national forestland for logging, while protecting hundreds of thousands more as wilderness. The Forest Jobs and Recreation Act not only would create jobs, establish permanent recreation areas and preserve ecologically sensitive land, Tester told members of a Senate Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee Wednesday, but it also would resolve long-simmering differences between factions in Montana who came together to forge this compromise. Unlike Tester's last version, this bill has the full backing of the Obama administration. Agriculture Undersecretary Harris Sherman told senators that Tester made some concessions, and that only "largely technical" concerns remain. Tester's bill is not out of the woods. It still must get through the committee, and its chairman, New Mexico Democrat Jeff Bingaman, has expressed reservations about it. Tester said he does not have Bingaman's support at this time...more
It's green enough for Obama, but still doesn't satisfy Bingaman. Even a fellow Democrat from the West can't work with Bingaman when it comes to Wilderness. Tell Tester there's a whole lot of folks in Dona Ana County, NM who know just how he feels.
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