Westerman forestry measure nears vote

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman’s forestry legislation is scheduled to be voted on in the U.S. House of Representatives this week.

The second-term Republican from Hot Springs, the only congressman with a graduate degree in forestry, is the sponsor of HR2936, the Resilient Federal Forests Act.

The legislation would make it harder for environmentalists to derail federal forest management plans, the congressman says. It also would change the way that the U.S. Forest Service is funded, making it easier for the agency to get more money in years when firefighting costs are particularly high.

Currently, the agency often resorts to “fire borrowing,” taking money from its other programs and shifting it to pay for fire suppression.

Similar legislation passed the House during Westerman’s first term, but died in the Senate.

Fire has claimed more than 8.8 million acres this year and forests are still ablaze out West. Firefighting costs for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 topped $2.4 billion, according to the Forest Service.

With the vote nearing, Westerman has been promoting the bill as much as possible. Last week, he granted an interview to Oregon Public Broadcasting; Oregon is one of the states that has been hit hardest by wildfires this year.

Interest in the forestry legislation has spiked recently, Westerman said.

“I hope that’s an indicator that we’ll be able to get the bill passed and get it into the Senate and hopefully, eventually, get it on the president’s desk.”