Members of Congress recently introduced the Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017, H.R. 2936. The title of the bill is very deceiving of course – a better name would be the “Watersheds Destruction Act of 2017” or the “Do Away With Public Involvement Act of 2017.”
H.R. 2936 would:
- Makes road building and logging the highest priority on the National Forests.
- Subject millions of acres of roadless wildlands on the National Forests to road-building and logging.
- Destroy important habitat for numerous native and imperiled species across the West.
- Damage soils and degrade water quality in watersheds around the West.
- Do away with the required consultation process between federal agencies regarding protections for species listed under the Endangered Species Act.
- Cuts out meaningful public involvement as required by the National Environmental Policy Act by creating multiple waivers for environmental review of proposals.
Please contact your elected officials today and tell them to oppose H.R. 2936. Click here to read the text of the bill. This legislation could end up attached to a broader piece of legislation like the 2018 Farm Bill or bills to fund the Forest Service Fire program.