Senate ENR to mark up Wyden's O&C bill after midterm election

E&E News
By Phil Taylor
September 17, 2014

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Mary Landrieu (D-La.) yesterday announced that her panel will mark up a sweeping forestry and conservation bill by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) after the November election.

The Nov. 13 business meeting will include Wyden's "Oregon and California Lands Act of 2014," along with "numerous public lands bills" that have had subcommittee hearings.

The markup will come nearly one year after Wyden first introduced S. 1784, which forestry experts estimated would roughly double logging levels on more than 2.1 million acres of federal O&C lands in western Oregon.

It's a major step in a lengthy legislative push by Wyden and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) to provide more timber jobs and fiscal certainty for O&C counties without harming old-growth trees and rivers and the endangered species that depend on them in western Oregon.

DeFazio's O&C bill -- which differs markedly from Wyden's -- passed the House about a year ago as part of a national forestry bill backed by Republicans that drew a veto threat from the White House.

"It is terrific news and strong leadership from Senator Landrieu that she is pushing ahead with a markup of this legislation that is so important to Oregon," Wyden said yesterday in a statement. "Despite the short September work session, Senator Landrieu recognized the great importance this legislation has to Oregon and decided to hold the markup when the Senate returns in November."

Wyden late last month floated a revised draft of the bill, expanding its land base to nearly 2.6 million acres and slightly increasing its projected timber harvests, a Wyden aide said.

But the markup could spark a bruising legislative battle, considering that Wyden's bill is still strongly opposed by major environmental groups as well as influential timber groups. The Association of O&C Counties has largely backed DeFazio's bill.

Wyden does have the backing of some influential timber officials, county commissioners, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Pacific Rivers Council and some sportsmen's groups.

Most stakeholders agree that the status quo, in which environmental litigation hampers O&C logging sales and counties must perpetually be bailed out by federal financial aid, is unsustainable.

One source close to the committee said the markup had been pushed back from tomorrow amid concerns over the bill from Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), a senior member of the committee whose support would be crucial to its passage.

Cantwell's office did not comment on that claim last night.

Republicans have not weighed in on Wyden's bill. But they have generally opposed advancing place-based forestry bills, urging Democrats instead to take up a national forestry package similar to the House's.

Landrieu said a markup was originally scheduled for tomorrow but was postponed due to a conflict with the joint session of Congress in honor of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

It is unclear whether the committee will mark up Wyden's most recent bill draft or whether it will be tweaked further.