Political Quotes

“73 million acres of national forests are at unnaturally high risk of catastrophic wildfires because of unhealthy forest conditions. Efforts by the Forest Service to restore forest health and prevent catastrophic wildfires have been frustrated by requirements for detailed documentation, administrative appeals of proposed forest treatment projects, lawsuits and injunctions. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes that it must be able to move more quickly to achieve results on the ground. One of its reports, ``The Process Predicament--How Statutory, Regulatory, and Administrative Factors Affect National Forest Management, dated, June, 2002, cited a study conducted by the National Academy of Public Administration where it was estimated that planning and assessment consume 40 percent of total direct work at the national forest level, representing an expenditure of more than $250 million per year. We cannot continue to shuffle paper while our forests burn. Federal land management must address dangerous fuel loads and declining forest health before we can ever hope to stem the wildfires that have plagued Arizona and other parts of our country. H.R. 1904 allows the Federal land management agencies to take action in protecting forest health.”