Political Quotes

“To the disappointment, I suppose, of everybody that is here, this isn't nearly as much fun as the last amendment. This is a rather simple amendment. It deals with a 1990 law, the Forest Legacy Act. It simply allows the Forest Legacy Act to be much more efficient and effective. It would allow those States that would like to participate in the Forest Legacy Act to also allow within that State a qualified trust, a land trust, to hold the easement. The benefit of this is that it reduces the burden on the State government. The State government doesn't have to manage that easement. It would be managed by a qualified land trust, and it also allows for greater leverage of the money that would be available from the forest legacy projects from both the State and the Federal Government. It's a win all the way around. This program has been very, very successful in protecting forest lands all around the Nation, and this amendment simply would provide another opportunity to do even more to protect our forests. Now, these forests are not going to be held as national parks or wilderness. These are operating forests. These are forests that would be operating with good, modern forest practices, providing wood and fiber into the community and the jobs that go with it. With that, I reserve the balance of my time.”