HomeMy WebLinkAboutEvergreen Forest County Group LetterEvergreen Forest County Group
September 20, 2018 OCT - 5 rP°"
Dear Commissioner:
I am pleased to report on the successful work of our lobbyist, Bob Weidner and
urge your support of his efforts on our behalf going forward. Here's why:
It was Bob's work lobbying with the National Forest Counties and Schools
Coalition throughout 2016, 2017 and 2018 that first devised the plan and then
provided the votes from members of Congress in both parties to pass that bill.
It was Bob Weidner who first identified the linkage between SRS payments and
PILT payments back in 2005. It was he who continued to raise the issue until
those in power finally listened and came to understand that failure to fund SRS
would result in a dramatic shift in PILT payments west wide simply because of
the way the PILT formula is written. That problem still exists.
The reality is that timber sales on National Forest lands dropped from a high in
1989 of nearly 12 billion board feet (bbf) to only 2 bbf in 2017. The increase in
wild fires, which now annually threaten to consume us, is a direct result of
Congress's failure to continue those sales and actively manage our National
Forests. All credible science validates this reality.
Our work now is to persuade Congress to solve the management problem, make
sure that increased forest management provides the revenues to counties and
jobs for our communities and lest we forget, once again gain Congressional
support for Secure Rural Schools (SRS) funding. Bob is already working with
the Congress to resolve outstanding issues regarding SRS Title's 1,11, III
payments, attempting to stop the ongoing ramp -down of SRS funding and easing
the appointment of RAC members under Title II of the SRS Act. Longer term,
Bob is working on a plan to determine whether active management alone will
actually offset SRS payments to counties in the aggregate and on a state by
state, forest by forest, county by county basis.
Bob met in early September with House Energy and Commerce Committee
Chairman Greg Walden (R -Oregon), Chairman Bishop and others to put this
strategy in place. Remember it was Walden who found the SRS offset needed to
pay for SRS funding along with Washington Representatives Cathy McMorris
Rodgers, Dan Newhouse and Jaime Herrera Beutler who persuaded GOP
Speaker Paul Ryan to agree to include SRS in the March 22, Omnibus
Appropriations bill.
Going forward Bob is working on:
Active National Forest Management and more aggressive timber harvests;
Making certain that once active National Forest management reforms
pass that they provide revenue to counties equal to or greater than current
SRS payments;
• Organizing the next effort to extend SRS and PILT payments;
• Endangered Species Act reform including a revision to the Northwest
Forest Plan;
• Revenue sharing legislation for renewable energy modeled after the
existing geothermal 25% revenue sharing plan with counties;
Educating each county on "Coordination" tools which empower counties
and recognizes a county government's unique responsibility to protect the
health and safety of its citizens during negotiations with federal agencies
over any major federal action.
The record of success speaks for itself. I urge your continued financial support
for Bob's work in Washington on behalf of our National Forest counties.
Itinc rely,
Doug E land, Chelan County
Chairman Evergreen Forest County Group