WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today spoke with Steve Pearce, President Trump’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing. They discussed the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and forest management.
Watch the full exchange HERE.
Daines and Pearce discussed the importance of the LWCF:
Daines: First of all, I want to give a heartfelt thanks to each of you and your willingness to serve in these very important roles. I truly look forward to working with each one of you once you are confirmed. Assistant Secretary Haustveit, it’s great to have a Butte-grad here. As we say in Montana, it’s not Butte, Montana, it’s “Butte, America.” To graduate from Montana Tech, it’s a great institution and pleased to have a little bit of that DNA here in Washington. Congressman Pearce, we previously served together in the House of Representatives when I was an incoming freshman in 2013. We served on behalf of two great western states: New Mexico and Montana. During the years that you served in the House, you sponsored a number of natural resources bills, including ones that sought to serve the interests of tribes, of ranchers, of recreationists. In fact, one of those bills was the Making Public Lands Public Act, which directed a portion of the Land and Water Conservation Fund for increasing public access for hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting. In fact, in Montana, where we are famous for a lot of things, but the movie, “A River Runs Through It”, where Brad Pitt suddenly discovered fly fishing and ruined it for the rest of us. 75% of our fishing access, where I’ve had fly rod since I was 11 years old from my Grandpa Daines as a kid growing up in Montana. Seventy-five percent of our fishing access sites were funded by LWCF. We have access to these amazing rivers and streams because of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and it’s been successfully used to unlock access to public lands that prior were inaccessible due to checkerboard land ownership. Under President Trump, we permanently authorized and funded LWCF in that very bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act, that many said was the greatest conservation win in 50 years. My question, Congressman Pearce, if confirmed will you continue your support for expanding hunting, fishing, and recreation access on BLM lands through the LWCF program?
Pearce: Absolutely, Senator.
Daines emphasized the need to reverse the 9th Circuit Cottonwood decision and reform forest management:
Daines: Congressman Pearce, we also had a great conversation about the need for forest management when you stopped by my office, and the need for reforms as it relates to forest management. BLM manages 1.3 million acres of forestland in Montana and the Dakotas. Yet simple projects get bogged down in red tape and sadly endless litigation. However, we are making progress in helping to remedy that. I’ve got a bill that will fix that 9th Circuit Court Cottonwood decision. It has passed this committee by voice, so we have a really strong bipartisan support for us, and it’s included in the Fix Our Forests Act. Congressman Pearce, do you agree that we need to increase the pace and the scale of forest management on BLM lands and pass reforms like the Cottonwood fix, the Root and Stem Act, as well as the Fix our Forest Act?
Pearce: Absolutely, Senator.
Daines: We’ve watched some remarkable outcomes from proper thinning in our forests. These trees are a bunch of straws in the ground, and they’re pulling water out, and you thin them out, and the trees remaining grow a lot faster. Suddenly, you see springs that you never knew existed are refurbished. It’s quite remarkable what happens to the ecosystem when we do proper forest management, wildlife habitat, not to mention reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire. And by the way, jobs for loggers and our sawmills as well, which is also an endangered species now in Montana. When I was a kid growing up, we had 30 active sawmills. We’re down just a handful because of the loss of access. This has become increasingly a very bipartisan issue. Fire knows no boundaries as we know. I have a few more questions, but I will submit those for the record.
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Contact: Matt Lloyd, Gabby Wiggins