Contact: Rob Ostrander 202.224.7627 Shana Stribling 202.224.0309
Friday, March 17, 2006

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Jim Talent and Kit Bond, and Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson today wrote USDA Undersecretary Mark Rey opposing a legislative proposal to grant the Bush Administration the authority to sell portions of the Mark Twain National Forest. The legislative proposal, released yesterday by the Forest Service, did not change the formula for how much Missouri schools would gain from the proposed land sale compared with other states.

“We support funding for rural schools, but the Forest Service has failed to prove how the proposed land sale will benefit Missouri,” Talent, Bond and Emerson wrote. “Additionally, the way this proposal is structured, Missouri would sell 21,566 acres of the Mark Twain National Forest, while collecting only $2.64 million in revenue for our rural schools. In contrast, many Western states are scheduled to sell far fewer acres, while receiving substantial returns.”

The Mark Twain National Forest is one of Missouri’s greatest treasures. It is a series of land tracts throughout southern and central Missouri covering 29 counties in the state. The U.S. Forest Service is proposing to sell as much as 21,566 acres of the 1.5 million acre Forest to provide funding for a five-year extension of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act.

Under the proposed land sale, Missouri would be the third largest in the country, but Missouri schools would not receive a third of the revenue. For example, Oregon is slated to sell only 10,581 acres of National Forest land, while receiving $260 million for their rural schools. Talent, Bond and Emerson said the formula is “grossly inequitable.”

“We are opposed to your proposal because it puts Missouri’s National Forest at risk, and it fails to bring benefits to our rural schools,” wrote Talent, Bond and Emerson. “We look forward to a revised plan to fund and reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools Act.”