Daines and Forest Service Chief Schultz in Senate Energy Committee: Fix Harmful Cottonwood Decision, Pass the America the Beautiful Act

Also Discusses Fix Our Forests Act WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today spoke with the United States Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz in a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing. They discussed the importance of passing Daines’ bill, the America the Beautiful Act, as well as addressing forest management and wildfire concerns in Montana. Watch the full exchange HERE . Daines on his “America the Beautiful Act:” Daines: Chief Schultz, welcome back. It is really good to have you up here before this committee. Two weeks ago, we had a great discussion with Secretary Burgum on the need to reauthorize the Legacy Restoration Fund and to get my “America the Beautiful Act” to the President’s desk by July 4th…We don’t have a chair and ranking member in that committee, and I appreciate Angus’ great bipartisan work on that very important committee. But here’s the good news. We just reached 60 cosponsors. We couldn’t even get Mother Teresa named a nice person in the Senate with that many cosponsors, it seems, but we’re there. We’ve got 29 Republicans on it now, so we have majority of the majority, and we have, of course, our Democrats have a majority of their caucuses as well. In fact, on this committee, virtually every member in this committee is now a cosponsor, with an exception of a handful. And 15 percent of that funding, by the way, will go to the Forest Service. Briefly, do you agree that we need to reauthorize the Legacy Registration Fund and get a bill in the President’s desk as soon as possible and hopefully by July 4th? Schultz: Mr. Chairman, Senator Daines, yes. Daines on fixing the 9 th Circuit Cottonwood ruling: Daines: Chief Schultz, as you know, I’ve been a longtime advocate of finding a resolution to the Cottonwood versus Forest Service ruling. This was a 2015 decision from the Ninth Circuit, which held that the “Endangered Species Act” requires federal forest managers to halt projects, even those that might help wildlife, and reinitiate consultation on forest plans every time a species is listed new or new habitat is designated. This is contradictory to a 2007 10th Circuit ruling, Forest Guardians versus Forsgren, which only requires site-specific project analysis with new ESA information. Chief Schultz, what have been the consequences of this circuit split, especially in regard to wildfire mitigation and forest restoration? Schultz: Mr. Chairman, Senator Daines, this legislation would be a huge fix in moving that issue forward. Daines on passing the “Fix Our Forests Act:” Daines: Senators Curtis and Sheehy are leading the bipartisan “Fix Our Forest Act”. It seeks to mitigate wildfire severity and impact across the board, and that also includes the Cottonwood Fix. Forest management stakeholders and states across the country are supportive of the bill, and they’re pushing the U.S. Senate to act on this landmark piece of legislation. Chief Schultz, would you agree that passage of this bill would help resolve forest restoration and management processes from your agency? Schultz: Mr. Chairman, Senator Daines, I would agree. Daines on supporting the LWCF: Daines: Chief Schultz, during original negotiations for the Great America Outdoors Act, this is back in 2020, I partnered with your predecessor to remove language that would limit LWCF acquisitions west of the 100th meridian. Can you discuss your vision for the future of LWCF and how it would support the Secretary of the Interior’s directive to expand hunting and fishing access on public lands and remove regulatory barriers? Schultz: Mr. Chairman, Senator Daines, those funds have been instrumental in both easements and acquisitions, a lot of that providing access for sportsmen, as you mentioned. Daines on addressing drought and wildfire concerns: Daines: The wildfire season, got to talk about that. It’s begun. You gave us some very troubling maps here from the SNOTEL with some fires already igniting in Montana. There’s also a lot of anxiety about drought, which increases wildfire risk, of course, threatens watersheds, all of which continues to compound on itself while communities suffer and put at risk. My question is, can you give us an outlook on your strategy to help mitigate the severe drought and wildfire risks for the coming summer months? Schultz: Mr. Chairman, Senator Daines. In terms of mitigating the conditions, we continue to treat fuels, as we’ve discussed. We continue to sell timber sales. So that’s the mitigation work is something that goes on year-round. ### Contact: Matt Lloyd, Gabby Wiggins