Keeping Montanans at Work in the Woods

Small timber mills provide the backbone for rural, timber-dependent communities across Montana.  From Kalispell to Deer Lodge to Livingston, the forest products industry is creating good paying jobs.  Montanans are proud of the role the timber industry has played in the state.  I am working with Montana’s timber industry to ensure sustainable harvests, prevent catastrophic wildfires, and open markets abroad.  Working together, we can ensure that the forest products industry can continue its legacy of responsible stewardship for years to come.

Preventing Forest Fires

Good forest management practices play a key role in preventing catastrophic wildfires.  Through hazardous fuels reduction and thinning in the wildland urban interface, Montana’s forest products industry helps keep our homes and families safe.

I am working to reform the way the Forest Service funds fire suppression so that they can stop catastrophic wildfires without having to borrow funds from other accounts such as hazardous fuels reduction.  Faced with the escalating cost of fighting wildfires, the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management frequently borrow emergency fire suppression funds from themselves through transferring money from other accounts.  This cycle of robbing Peter to pay Paul undermines both agencies and leaves priority programs, such as timber programs, unfunded.

That is why I introduced the Stable Fire Funding Act.  This bill would authorize $600 million in seed money to create a trust fund for the Forest Service, as well as $200 million in seed money for a BLM trust fund.  That seed money would generate interest, which could be used to cover 80 percent of firefighting costs that go over the agencies’ budgets provided by Congress for that given year.

Opening International Markets

Another key to keeping Montana’s timber industry robust is opening international markets and creating fair terms of trade.  Montana's lumber industry plays by the rules.  And Montanans deserve to know that our trading partners will play by the same rules.  I have been working hard to ensure that our trade agreements, including our Softwood Lumber Agreement with Canada, are enforced.  I have been pressing to guarantee that the American market is free of unfairly subsidized or dumped softwood lumber.  And I pushed our Government to take legal action to ensure that Montana's lumber industry is able to face foreign competition on a level playing field.

Looking Out for Timber Communities

Montana's small, independent and family-owned mills provide jobs and the economic backbone of Montana's rural timber-dependent communities. I will continue to work hard with Montana's timber industry to keep Montanans at work in the woods.