Jason Smith: “Let me begin first by saying I fully support increasing the timber harvest on Federal lands, and I'm excited for the…”

“Let me begin first by saying I fully support increasing the timber harvest on Federal lands, and I'm excited for the opportunity to create jobs and stimulate the economy in my rural Missouri district. The issue that my amendment deals with, prescribed fires within the Mark Twain National Forest, is a symptom of the larger problem that H.R. 1526 seeks to fix. To put it simply, our national forest system could be better managed. Fifty million board feet of timber, with an estimated value of $4.75 million, dies every year in the Mark Twain National Forest. Only 38 million board feet of timber, with an estimated value of $4.37 million, is harvested. There are individuals ready, willing, and able to harvest the timber, but they are prevented from acting by the Federal Government. The Forest Service has made the harvest problem even worse by burning whole swaths of harvestable acreage. While prescribed fire has been used in the past as an effective technique to manage and prevent forest fires, in this instance the fires are being used to change the landscape of the area from its current forested state to pine-oak woodlands. I have personally visited sites where trees that could be harvested for timber are being burned. Folks, it just doesn't make sense to be burning this timber that could be used to bring new jobs and economic prosperity to my district.…”