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Posted by
Crystal Feldman
on
December 20, 2012
During the height of this year’s record-breaking fire season, the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands held a legislative hearing on bills to address forest health and reduce the risk of catastrophic forest fire. Following a Forest Service report on the need for restoration on 65-82 million acres of National Forest land, the Forest Service testified that it had restored 3.7 million acres in 2011. Restoration is the process of assisting recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed. Following the hearing, we submitted a series of questions to get further detail on what methods the agency used to “restore” these lands. In its response, the Forest Service explained that of those 3.7 million acres, over 1.4 million – nearly 40% of the total – were “restored” through a combination of prescribed fire (fire intentionally set and monitored by the agency) and wildland-use fire (fire allowed to burn to achieve resource objectives). Meanwhile, commercial harvest was only allowed on 195,477 acres - 5% of the total work for 2011 and only .1% of the 193 million acres managed by the Forest Service. In short, the Forest Service “restored” seven times more land by the use of wildfire than by management to produce merchantable wood products, support jobs, or generate economy activity and revenue for our rural forest communities and schools. The 195,000 acres treated this year produced 2.4 billion board feet of timber – down 80% over the last twenty years. This decline in forest management has resulted in millions of acres of unhealthy forests caused by insect and disease infestation and overgrowth, an ever growing threat of catastrophic wildfire, and significant damage to local economies. This data shows that there is tremendous opportunity to restore active management of our forests that will create jobs and foster economic development.
Posted by
Jamie Hennigan
on
December 17, 2012
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Chairman of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, Chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), sent a letter to the Obama administration today requesting the withdrawal of a rule proposed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that would regulate hydraulic fracturing on federal and Indian lands. The letter was a follow-up to a previous RGA/RAGA letter expressing concern over the rule and its impact on energy production and economic growth.
The rule, announced by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in May 2012, was met with strong opposition by States, Tribal leaders, job creators, and other concerned citizens. Hydraulic fracturing has been effectively regulated by the States for over 60 years and is currently responsible for 30 percent of our domestic oil and natural gas production. With States like North Dakota seeing oil production increase by 500% in the last few years due to hydraulic fracturing, this technology represents one of the greatest opportunities for strengthening our Nation’s energy security and spurring economic growth. According to a recent IHS Global Insight study, shale oil and natural gas activity will contribute over 1.7 million jobs in 2012 and increase by over 45% to almost 2.5 million jobs in 2015. Over the past year, the Natural Resources Committee has held multiple oversight hearings to discuss the rule and its impact on the economy. At a May field hearing in Denver, CO, witnesses representing Western energy producers, public policy experts and local businesses testified about the harm to job creation, local economies and America's energy production that could result from the regulations. In April, the Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs held an oversight hearing to examine the impact of the regulations on Indian Tribal energy development. Indian Tribal lands hold a significant amount of oil and natural gas that could help Tribes create jobs, spur economic development and help improve education, health and infrastructure. Unfortunately, many Tribes are concerned that they were left out of the rulemaking process and that the rule could greatly impede Tribes’ ability to develop their own energy resources. To learn more about how the Obama Administration has blocked, delayed and hindered American energy production, visit http://naturalresources.house.gov/roadblocks
Posted by
Neal Kirby
on
December 17, 2012
The Committee on Natural Resources can trace its history back more than 200 years ago. On this day in 1805, the House of Representatives created the Committee on Public Lands, to help Congress manage the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase Territory. Stretching northwest from the port of New Orleans to present-day Montana, the territory covered more than 828,000 square miles. Backed by several Members, Rep. William Findley of Pennsylvania proposed creating “a committee respecting the lands of the United States” on December 17, 1805. The Committee on Public Lands was charged with considering “all such petitions, and matters or things, respecting the lands of the United States, as shall be presented, or shall or may come into question, and be referred to them by the House; and to report their opinion thereupon, together with such propositions for relief therein, as to them shall seem expedient.” As new territory came under government control, the Public Lands Committee gained jurisdiction over land sales, grants to railroads, efforts to prevent speculation, national parks, conservation, forests, and mineral and water rights. Under the 1946 Legislative Reorganization Act, the Committee on Public Lands absorbed the legislative and oversight roles of a host of other committees created to organize the nation’s 19th-century expansion, among them private land claims, mines and mining, and insular affairs. While the names have changed and the jurisdiction of the Committee has expanded over the years, the Committee’s purpose remains the same: overseeing the nation’s public lands and the responsible management of its natural resources. Source: The Office of History and Preservation, Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives
Posted by
Neal Kirby
on
December 05, 2012
Last night, in perfect 66 degree weather, Speaker of the House John Boehner joined Architect of the Capitol Stephen Ayers and other dignitaries to light the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. This year's tree — a 65-foot Engelmann spruce — hails from Committee Member Scott Tipton's Colorado district, in the Blanco Ranger District of the White River National Forest. The "People's Tree" will be lit from night fall until 11 p.m. each evening through December 26, 2012.
"It's a great honor for Coloradans to showcase our state’s natural beauty by giving the gift of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree—the People's Tree—to our nation. This tree, which comes from the White River National Forest in my district, is one of many that make Colorado one of the most beautiful places in the world," Rep. Tipton said. The Capitol Christmas Tree has been a tradition at the U.S. Capitol since 1964. A tree is selected each year from one of the nine national regions of the U.S. Forest Service. The 2013 Capitol Christmas Tree will come from the Colville National Forest in Washington state. Retweet and Share with Friends:
Posted by
Crystal Feldman
on
October 22, 2012
President Obama has declared October 21st through October 27th National Forest Products week in appreciation of the sustainable uses of our public lands. The federal government owns over 190 million acres of resource abundant forest lands that provide opportunities for economic development, timber and energy production, grazing, tourism and recreational activity. Through the responsible management of America’s national forests we can foster forest health and reduce the risk of wildfires while providing recreational opportunities, growing our economy and supporting thousands of American jobs.
However, over the past four years President Obama has implemented burdensome regulations that have locked-up our lands and threatened forest health. Obama Administration policies have contributed to increased forest density, insect infestation and the risk for catastrophic wildfire. In fact, President Obama’s final forest planning rule released earlier this year introduced excessive layers of bureaucracy that will cost jobs, hinder proper forest management, prevent proper utilization of our natural resources, and add burdensome costs for Americans. Due to overregulation and frivolous lawsuits, timber production in our National Forests has dropped by over 80 percent in the last few decades. This drastic reduction in timber production has forced us to become more dependent on important wood products from foreign countries. Rather than employing a policy that creates jobs and balances our economic and recreational interests, President Obama has undermined the multiple-use benefits of this abundant resource. Through responsible management of America’s National Forests we have the capacity to help turn our economy around and put Americans back to work. However, in order to do this, we must implement a multiple-use policy that allows for active management of our National Forests. During National Forest Products week let’s recognize our National Forests’ vast potential and call for the return to active management of this valuable resource. To learn more about what House Republicans are doing to increase access and enhance forest health click here.
Posted by
Committee Staff
on
September 19, 2012
Congressman Bill Johnson (OH-06) joined the show “Money” with Melissa Francis on Fox Business to discuss what House Republicans are doing to fight President Obama’s War on Coal. This week the House will consider H.R. 3409, the Stop the War on Coal Act, a package of bills to protect thousands of American jobs and U.S. energy production that are being threatened by Obama Administration regulations.
Join the Conversation on Twitter:Tweets about President Obama's #WarOnCoal Like the interview? Have a thought on President Obama's war on coal? Leave your comments here:
Posted by
Maeve McKenna
on
August 14, 2012
Americans continue to face rising prices at the pump that are expected to climb even higher this year, according to the AAA report released Monday. Gasoline prices increased 18 cents this month and eight cents this past week alone. As of August 9, gasoline prices have exceeded prices on the same day last year and continue upward. As families struggle with rising energy expenses, the Obama Administration continues to block new offshore energy projects that would increase domestic production and help drive down costs.
David Holt recently wrote an article for FuelFix discussing the Obama Administration’s hold up of Shell’s drilling operations in the Arctic. Shell Oil and Gas Company still hopes to drill exploratory wells off the coast of Alaska despite excessive government red tape delaying its efforts. After seven years of planning and more than $4 billion in spending on leases, permits and studies, the company has seen its July 1 target start date come and go as permits from the Interior Department, Environmental Protection Agency and the Coast Guard continue to be held up in the permitting process. Though its original plan included drilling five exploratory wells, Shell has already had to reduce its efforts to two wells while it continues to await approval during this short 4-month drilling season. As permitting delays continue, key federal agencies haven’t stopped Greenpeace activists from disrupting the region with a 237-foot ice-cutter, two submarines, and a drone, as discussed by a recent article in Human Events by Audrey Hudson. The activists have yet to be required to undergo the permitting process to protest, despite the potential for creating hazardous working conditions and disrupting marine life. Recently, House Natural Resources Chairman Doc Hastings and Senator Lisa Murkowski sent letters to the National Ocean and Atmospheric Association and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement insisting that appropriate action be taken to ensure safe operations and to inquire about the activists’ failure to obtain protesting and vessel operating permits. These are just the latest examples of how the Obama Administration continues to stall new offshore energy production and block the creation of thousands of jobs. Earlier this year, the President announced a proposed offshore lease plan for 2012-2017 that keeps over 85 percent of our offshore areas off-limits to American energy production. In response, the House passed H.R. 6082, the “Congressional Replacement of President Obama’s Energy-Restricting and Job-Limiting Offshore Drilling Plan.” This drill-smart plan offers 29 lease sales in areas known to contain the most oil and natural gas resources, including opening up drilling opportunities off the coast of northern Alaska in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas – the same region where Shell’s exploratory efforts are being inhibited. This bill awaits action in the Senate. To read more about H.R. 6082, click here. To read more about the letters from Chairman Hastings and Senator Murkowski, click here.
Posted by
Crystal Feldman
on
August 08, 2012
“We're disappointed that they filed another large, multi-species petition. Fifty-three species is a large number, and the species are spread across the country.” – Gary Frazer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Assistant Director for Endangered Species The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) recently petitioned the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) under the guise of protecting 53 new species across the United States – the largest petition ever filed focused on amphibians and reptiles. The petition comes on the heels of a 2011 mega-settlement between the Interior Department, the Center for Biological Diversity and WildEarth Guardians that covered 779 species in 85 lawsuits and legal actions. The settlement required FWS to take action on pending petitions for 757 species over the next seven years. In exchange, the two environmental groups agreed to limit lawsuits filed against the Agency so that efforts can be focused on trying to accomplish the terms of the agreement. While the recent petition does not directly violate the terms of the settlement, it does divert money and resources away from species recovery and disregards the spirit of the settlement by adding to the Agency’s backlog of petitions. Time and again, CBD and other similar groups have undermined the goal of the ESA by litigating, obstructing, and frustrating the FWS while racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer-funded attorney fees that continue to feed their litigious strategies to the detriment of species and people. Petitions for new species protection wobble balance in FWS settlement, agency says The Fish and Wildlife Service and environmentalists reached a landmark legal settlement last year meant as a truce in extensive court battles -- but agency officials think massive new requests by one group to protect more species now threaten to derail the agreement's delicate balance. The Center for Biological Diversity, a frequent plaintiff against the service, recently petitioned the agency to protect 53 new species across the United States. It is the largest petition ever filed focusing on amphibians and reptiles, according to the center. Several prominent scientists, including E.O. Wilson and Thomas Lovejoy, joined the group to ask for urgent protection for frogs, snakes, toads, salamanders, turtles and lizards from habitat destruction, pollution, invasive species and climate change. It is the group's first large petition since it signed a sweeping settlement with the service last year. The settlement created a five-year work plan for the service and limited lawsuits from two environmental groups that have hounded the federal government to protect more species and stick to deadlines set in the Endangered Species Act. The new request does not directly violate the settlement, but Fish and Wildlife Service officials say it could distract from the important work they are trying to accomplish under the terms of the agreement. "We're disappointed that they filed another large, multi-species petition. Fifty-three species is a large number, and the species are spread across the country," Gary Frazer, the Fish and Wildlife Service's assistant director for endangered species, said in an interview last week. "They have a right to do that; they did not give away the right to do that. But the service now has our priorities set through this settlement." Biologists from the Center say their petition does not need to upset the balance of the agency's workload. FWS can still focus on the priority decisions set in the settlement, and at least get started addressing concerns about these species. And the settlement still gives the agency breathing room to address the more time- and resource-intensive aspects of species decisions later. "Fish and Wildlife has repeatedly stated that they can make initial findings on petitions without it disrupting their workload," said Noah Greenwald, the center's endangered species director. "Consistent with the agreement, we expect them to make an initial finding on this petition and then have a longer period of time to conduct status reviews for these 53 highly imperiled amphibians and reptiles." Under the terms of the settlement, finalized last September, the service will issue final listing decisions on hundreds of species over the next five years. In exchange, the Center for Biological Diversity and WildEarth Guardians agreed to limit their litigation. But big new requests, like the center's recent petition, threaten that, according to the service. "It's moving us in the mode of having to either focus on petitions because they have specific deadlines and not listing determinations or run the risk of having deadlines and facing deadline litigation," said Frazer. "We can't do everything. ... We'll have to see whether these stand up and whether the CBD is going to continue to try to add more and more to our plate. We are certainly going to do as much as we can do with the resources that we have available in any year, but we have limited resources available, and we committed most of those to completing the listing determinations [in the settlement.]" Biologists at CBD counter that at-risk species should not have to wait for bureaucrats to catch up. "From our point of view, there's the candidate backlog, which is lengthy ... then there's the biological backlog, too, and that contains a lot more species; some scientists estimate as many as a couple thousand," Greenwald said. "I don't know any argument for why if there's a species that's endangered, why you wouldn't want to protect that. Our goal is to see the species that need protection get protection." The 2011 settlement grew out of years of legal battles with the two groups, which frequently file petitions for the service to protect new species. The service is legally obligated to respond to those requests under certain deadlines under the Endangered Species Act. When the agency failed to take action, environmentalists would take the government to court. The Fish and Wildlife Service could not keep up, and agency officials say they were devoting too much of their time and resources to responding to deadlines, lawsuits and new requests. Since 2007, environmental groups have petitioned to list more than 1,000 species -- nearly as many as were listed in the previous 30 years, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. "We found ourselves in the first decade of this century being overwhelmed with the volume of new petitions. We have limited resources, and certainly the volume exceeded the capability that we had for deadlines," Frazer said. "The settlement was to sit down and restore a balanced approach and provide protection to species that need it, as opposed to simply chasing statutory deadlines." Greenwald says it's unfair to blame his group's petitions for the backlog -- which goes back years before the group started making so many requests. Instead, he says bureaucratic inefficiency and political interference during the George W. Bush administration are more to blame. Agency touts progress The settlement's six-year work plan requires the agency to make final listing decisions on 251 species on the "candidate" list and initial findings on hundreds of other species. The candidate list -- often reviled by environmentalists -- serves as a waiting room for imperiled species; species go on it when they warrant protection but the service determines that other priorities preclude their listing. The agency has completed at least 607 listing actions under the agreement -- many of them initial findings on whether a request for protection merits further inspection. It has proposed protection for 63 species and issued nine rules to protect critical habitat. By the end of the fiscal year, the agency is on track to issue findings or proposed listing for 99 more species, half of them species that have been waiting on the candidate list, according to Frazer. "That is far more progress and actually providing protection to species that need it, making listing determinations for species that need it, than we've done in any year since the mid-1990s," he said. As for the new requests for species protection, Frazer said the agency is committed to at least complete initial findings on whether it has substantial enough information for further consideration. But it is "not clear" how the agency could handle the workload to go through the rest of the listing process and still complete all the work for the settlement, Frazer said. To add to the challenge for the service, the agency could also face a significant strain in its budget. Congress has not completed the spending measure for next year, but some House Republicans want to cut funding for endangered species programs by one-third. The two environmental groups that signed off on the settlement did so with different stipulations. Wild Earth Guardians, which brokered its agreement first, agreed to file no more than 10 new petitions each year and to hold off on deadline-related lawsuits. The group did so with the hopes of helping the service address the "extinction crisis" by focusing on species the agency already knows need protection, according to Taylor Jones, endangered species advocate for Wild Earth Guardians. After FWS settled with that group, lawyers from the Center for Biological Diversity said they should be involved, since many of the species at issue resulted from petitions from their group. A federal judge urged all three parties to come to an agreement. Center leaders would not agree to the same terms, and their settlement places no limits on the number of petitions the group can make -- though it does limit the number of lawsuits they can file. There are also trade-offs for both groups if they sue the service. If the groups win lawsuits forcing more than three new species conservation actions in a year, the service can push out some of the deadlines for other ESA decisions it agreed to in the settlement. Frazer said the agency had hoped the center would voluntarily keep its petition requests down and stick closer to the levels of the Wild Earth Guardians settlement, which he said are in line with the number of requests the agency was facing in the 1990s. But biologists with the center think the service needs to streamline its decisionmaking process and find additional resources so it can address new listings on top of the settlement workload. The 450-page petition the group filed in July asks for protection for turtles, snakes, toads, frogs, lizards and salamanders in 45 states. Prior to the new request, the center had asked for protection for four other species since the settlement was filed. "We think they could be doing a lot more. We are glad we have the settlement, and they are picking up the pace on that, but we are going to continue to push for getting more species protected than what is in the settlement," Greenwald said.
Posted by
Neal Kirby
on
June 07, 2012
Yesterday, Chairman Doc Hastings joined House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy and other House Republicans in introducing the Domestic Energy and Jobs Act, a package of American energy production bills, including five from the Natural Resources Committee, that will create new American jobs by streamlining burdensome government red tape, modernizing energy production processes and planning for American’s energy future production. Learn more about the Domestic Energy and Jobs Act here. Watch the press conference and Retweet to share with friends:
Posted by
Jamie Hennigan
on
April 13, 2012
Multiple sportsmen, conservation and second amendment advocate organizations are calling for passage of H.R. 4089. Specifically, the Sportsmen's Heritage Act of 2012 reaffirms that fishing, hunting, and shooting are important and traditional activities that should continue on Forest Service (FS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands. The bill provides a clear legislative basis for protecting sportsmen and wildlife management agencies from anti-hunting and fishing litigation and administrative gridlock. H.R. 4089 is composed of four of the hunting and fishing community’s highest legislative priorities.
American Sportfishing Association |
