Thank you, Chair Merkley, Ranking Member Murkowski and all members of the subcommittee for the opportunity to submit testimony in support of full funding of $425 million in FY 2024 for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

I think it would be very significant to the tribe.

Do you like that term, tribal sovereignty fees?

Thank you very much.

I want to emphasize that word, 'required'.

they need to be put at the top of the list for consideration of being labeled as endangered.

Amen to that. And I have a bill to change that, so Thank you, for drawing attention and spotlighting that issue.

I want to turn to the Western Oregon operating plan (WOOP), as it is referred to, and this is a plan that coordinates the approach to wildfire response.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure and Inflation Reduction Act provided for investment in high-risk firesheds.

Those two species were like the core of the diet that supported the tribes from time immemorial.

Thank you. I am going to be pretty strict about us sticking to our time limits.

I think if I had a magic wand, I would, you know, throw a couple more billion dollars into these key ecosystems that are threatened.

the proposed fiscal year 2024 President's Budget addresses a lot of the concerns and challenges we have with the recruitment and retention.

Thank you, Senator. You timed it just perfectly.

I think it is an incredibly important investigation and report. We need to shine a light on the past in order to understand issues that may help us direct into the future.

I want to emphasize that word, 'required'.

Forest Service salaries--I should say, Federal salaries, in many of the locations across the country is not holding up to salaries in other non-Federal jobs.

It is an incredible national parks system, but it only works if we have people staffing it.