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SUNNY Temp: 51 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, October 2, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine Joy Magazine Tempo A & E RogueValleyAutoFinder RogueValleyHomeFinder Real Estate Showcase Wellness Connection Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Employment Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend August 20, 2003 U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., left, greets Oregon Rep. Greg Walden at a Medford press conference before heading to a GOP fund-raiser on Tuesday night. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell House speaker stumps for forest-thinning bill Hastert visits Medford to raise money for the GOP; calls the Healthy Forest bill a boon for the timber industry By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune House Speaker Dennis Hastert stumped in Medford Tuesday afternoon for local Congressman Greg Walden’s legislation aimed at speeding forest thinning on federal lands. The Healthy Forest bill, sponsored by Walden, R-Hood River, and Rep. Mark McGinnis, R-Colo., would revive the sagging economy in the Northwest while helping to reduce the threat of catastrophic fire, said Hastert, a Republican from Illinois. "He (Walden) showed great leadership moving the Healthy Forest (bill) out of committee and through the House," Hastert said. The bill passed the House last spring. "It’s an important bill for the forest industry," added Hastert, who was on a 16-day fund-raising swing through the West for the GOP. Advertisement "It’s a common-sense approach to make sure we can build the roads we have to build so this industry can start to come back." The bill would allow aggressive thinning of up to 20 million acres of national forestland. It would also eliminate some environmental reviews and limit appeals on overgrown forests. The bill includes language allowing logging projects on up to 1,000 acres without environmental review if the trees are infested with insects. Controlled burns up to 4,500 acres also could be done without environmental studies. However, the bill, expected to be debated by the Senate when it returns after the summer recess, has drawn fire from the environmental community, which argues that much of the measure’s focus is on harvesting large, fire-resistant trees. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., while agreeing that the evaluation of environmental impacts on thinning projects needs to be accelerated, has expressed concern the bill cuts too deeply into environmental safeguards. He also has insisted on protecting old-growth timber and providing full funding for the thinning projects. Hastert, who appeared at a news briefing before attending a fund-raiser Tuesday night in Medford, said the funding for the Healthy Forest bill would be there. "If we’re going to pass it, we are going to fund it," he said. "Greg has been a leader trying to get funding ... to make sure we can do the work ahead of time. "You have to have the roads and you have to have the facilities to be able to do it," he added. "I’m not a forest expert ... but I can tell you it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out you need to be able to harvest where there are diseased forests so they don’t become tinder when there is a lightning strike." Although tax cuts passed by Congress after the "Clinton bubble burst in the year 2000" are starting to pay off, the region still needs the economic shot in the arm which would be supplied by the bill, Hastert said. "You have to look at why the (regional) economy has deteriorated," he said, charging that "extreme environmental measures" have hamstrung the timber industry. "They can’t get at public lands," he said. "They can’t harvest the timber that is there. So you have lost tens of thousands of jobs." He also noted that the Portland’s high-tech industry has faltered, causing an economic downturn. "But for areas like this, the Healthy Forest (bill) is a very, very important engine to get this economy back," he said. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times