House to vote on controversial amendment to fast-track logging in Rim fire areas

E&E News
By Jessica Estepa
February 5, 2014

The House tomorrow will debate amendments to a controversial public lands package, including a measure for fast-tracking logging in areas damaged during last year's Rim fire in California.

A rule approved yesterday by the House Rules Committee will allow for lawmakers to consider H.R. 2954, a package titled the "Public Access and Lands Improvement Act." It includes a number of other measures, including a bill to allow vehicular access to North Carolina's Cape Hatteras National Seashore and a proposal that would halt the Bureau of Land Management's land purchases until the agency publishes online the parcels it has identified as appropriate for disposal.

The rule will allow for the debate of five amendments when lawmakers take up the bill on the House floor today. The votes on the amendments are expected tomorrow.

Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), the sponsor of the controversial Rim fire measure, has introduced an amendment that would allow the Forest Service more flexibility in implementing a salvage logging plan. The amendment requires the agency to protect "sensitive areas" while maximizing revenue for reforestation.

McClintock criticized the federal government, saying that time is of the essence when it comes to logging plans in the stricken region. If action isn't taken within a year of the fire, "the salvage will be worthless," he told Rules Committee members.

Two of the amendments to be considered are related to the Grazing Improvement Act. The first proposal, from Reps. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho), makes a number of changes to the measure, including allowing for the Interior secretary to consolidate environmental reviews and altering the bill to match Senate changes to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.

Labrador introduced another amendment that would require those who challenge grazing decisions made by the Interior secretary to pay for the fees incurred by other parties if they lose their challenge. The requirement would only affect challengers who were not directly affected by the grazing decision.

An amendment from Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) would add another provision to the bill, the approval of an Alaska Native veterans land allotment application and the conveyance of land associated with the application.

The only Democratic amendment on the table is from Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona. The change would completely remove a measure introduced by Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) that would halt the Bureau of Land Management's land purchases until the agency publishes online the parcels it has identified as appropriate for disposal.

One rejected amendment from Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) would have struck all measures in the package except for her own, the "Green Mountain Lookout Heritage Protection Act."

While the package is being touted as bipartisan, DelBene's legislation is the only Democratic-sponsored measure to be included.

The passage of the package is opposed by Democrats, Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.) told the committee.

"2954 is unbalanced and puts industry and development at odds with conservation values," she said.