On the recordJuly 8, 2015
We extend the authority of recreation fee programs; we prohibit the Interior from administratively creating new wilderness areas; we provide the full funding of $452 million for payments in lieu of taxes, which is extremely important to almost every State in the Union; and we increase the forest products account by $16 million so that the Forest Service can increase timber harvests. We lost a lot of the timber operations in the West after the issue with the spotted owl. After that 20-year experiment that most people realize was a failure, we now have forests that have become overgrown, especially in the West, and we have poorly managed some of those forests. We need to go back and thin those forests out. There are two ways to thin a forest, Mr. Chairman. Either God does it, or we allow for good timbering operations that are done in a new scientific manner that help clear out that forest in a healthy way, that bring back animals that sometimes have abandoned the region because of overgrowth--operations that make for a healthier forest in the long run. These are good goals. We want to work with the Department of Forestry to make sure that they continue to make progress on this, and we will continue to do that. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time. Amendment Offered by Mr. Calvert
