Sylvester Turner: “I rise in support of the Forest Recovery Protection Act, and I thank the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Smith), chairman…”

“I rise in support of the Forest Recovery Protection Act, and I thank the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Smith), chairman, and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm) for their leadership on this issue. I represent a district in east Texas that has four national forests. In fact, all of the national forests that are in Texas are located in the 2nd Congressional District. I understand full well the threats that our forests, our national forests, face today from mismanagement and lack of proper management. I think this bill takes a major step forward in ensuring that we will apply sound management practices to our national forests. We have a battle ongoing in this country between the environmentalists and those who support the sound forestry management practices and preservation of the forest. That really is somewhat irrational because we all believe in the same thing. The main difference is those of us who support this legislation understand that trees are renewable resources and that we cannot have a sound forest management plan unless we have the tools necessary to manage those forests. This bill does not disturb any of the wilderness areas that are specified by existing law. In fact, it changes nothing about existing laws that protect our forests. It is a bill designed to ensure that those forests are there for the future.”