Political Quotes

“I rise in support of the amendment offered by my distinguished colleague, the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Bryant]. This amendment will ensure that the lands released for development by the Montana Wilderness Act will be managed in an environmentally sustainable manner. Madam Chairman, this amendment prohibits clearcutting in the lands not designated as wilderness by this legislation. Clearcutting irrevocably destroys the natural characteristics of our forests, is the most costly logging technique, and produces inferior timber at a lower volume. This amendment allows logging, but only the type of logging that does not destroy the forests in the process. This type of logging is selection management. It allows trees to be cut from the forest while permitting the forest, and the animal and plant communities that live in it, to continue to flourish. Furthermore, selection logging produces the highest quality saw timber, and over time produces far more lumber and jobs than clearcutting. This amendment also prohibits construction of roads in roadless areas of the released lands. As the Forest Service moves toward ecosystem management, these roadless areas need to be protected from development. These areas serve as important reservoirs of biological diversity, which is ultimately the most important resource in the national forests.”