Today this Subcommittee is hearing testimony on non-Federal forest management and what the Federal Government can learn to better promote healthy forests and rural communities and jobs. So the last few decades we have seen our National Forest System fall into complete neglect. What was once a valuable asset has deteriorated into a growing liability. So I believe our national forests and public lands are long overdue for a paradigm shift. It is time for the Federal Government to cease...
More DescriptionToday this Subcommittee is hearing testimony on non-Federal forest management and what the Federal Government can learn to better promote healthy forests and rural communities and jobs. So the last few decades we have seen our National Forest System fall into complete neglect. What was once a valuable asset has deteriorated into a growing liability. So I believe our national forests and public lands are long overdue for a paradigm shift. It is time for the Federal Government to cease being the absentee landlord over 600 million acres of this country that it controls, and start leveraging those lands in a way that benefits rather than burdens the taxpayers and the communities who are forced to play host to the Federal estate.