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WASHINGTON, DC – Fourth District Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) today made
the following statement Friday concerning the passage of the Healthy Forest
Restoration Act, of which he was also a co-sponsor:
“Congress’s passage of the Healthy Forest Act today is a significant,
innovative step toward reducing the bureaucratic process that often inhibits
us from adequately protecting our public and private forests. The historic
passage of this legislation today will provide new, innovative procedures
toward combating the devastating effects events such as wildfires and insect
infestation have on our forests.
“Tens of millions of acres of public and private forests throughout
the South and the Midwest face catastrophic damage from a host of pests,
like the Southern Pine Beetle, Red and White Oak bores, and others –and
Arkansas is no exception. This initiative will provide us with the
resources we need to curb the risk of these dangers from occurring in our
own national forests. In Arkansas, almost one out of every three
acres of forest will be eligible for the expedited procedures authorized
by this bill.
“We have environmentalists and then we have extremists. True environmentalists
like myself believe we must properly manage our national forests in order
to protect and preserve them, and the Healthy Forest Restoration Act will
do just that.”
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