Rob Bishop: “I appreciate the remarks of the gentleman from Montana. Very few people realize the Federal Government actually owns 1…”

“I appreciate the remarks of the gentleman from Montana. Very few people realize the Federal Government actually owns 1 out of every 3 acres in this country, but it is disproportionate. So, of the 13 Western States, 54 percent of the land mass is actually owned by the Federal Government. The 33 States east of the Western States only have 4 percent of their land. Which simply means no one actually east of Denver quite understands how this relationship necessarily works. It also means that the unfortunate truth is, as we've already heard, that private and State forests are today healthier than the Federal forest system. But those of us in the West realize this firsthand because those are our neighbors, those are the areas that surround our communities. I'm glad to hear from the next two speakers who will be talking--they are from Colorado. The first one is the gentleman from Colorado Springs, who is on the Natural Resources Committee, and he's going to explain the significant situation that they find in Colorado with our forest health situation. I yield to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn).”