The House approved a wide-ranging public lands bill Thursday that would speed logging of trees burned in last year’s massive Rim Fire in California.
The measure also allows vehicular access to North Carolina’s Cape Hatteras National Seashore, extends livestock grazing permits on federal land in the West and lifts longstanding restrictions on canoes, rafts and other “hand-propelled” watercraft in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.
The House approved the bill, 220-194, on a largely party-line vote. It now goes to the Senate, where it is considered unlikely to pass. The White House opposes the bill but has not issued a veto threat.
Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., said the Rim Fire left behind more than 200,000 acres of dead timber on federal land near Yosemite National Park last August. The timber could be sold to raise hundreds millions of dollars that could then be used to replant and restore devastated forests, McClintock said.
Timber sales also would help revive the economy of the stricken region, he said. “But time is already running out. Within a year, the value of the timber begins to decline rapidly as the wood is devoured by insects and rot,” he said.
From the Great Falls Tribune: https://www.greatfallstribune.com/viewart/20140206/NEWS01/302060021/House-backs-bill-speed-logging-burned-trees