U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, criticized the U.S. Forest Service’s proposal on Jul. 15 to authorize an emergency salvage logging project covering more than five million acres across six national forests in Idaho and Montana.
Heinrich said, “Time and again, this administration has put the interests of billionaires and powerful industries ahead of America’s public lands and the people who own them.”
Heinrich argued that effective wildfire management should involve targeted, science-based hazardous fuels treatments rather than broad clearcutting or new road construction. He said these actions would reduce safeguards for areas used by Americans for recreation such as hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, and family activities.
According to Heinrich, “If the Forest Service is going to invoke extraordinary emergency authorities, it owes the public transparency and accountability. Instead, it released an eight-page notice with no maps, no meaningful project details, and no explanation for why this massive proposal qualifies as an emergency, while giving Americans just seven days to weigh in.”
Heinrich also said that nearly 90 percent of the proposed area falls outside high-risk firesheds and questioned why a 25 percent increase in timber volume was included in the plan. He stated that clearcutting larger trees would not help prevent wildfires but would benefit the timber industry at public expense.
“As Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee,” Heinrich said, he will continue holding the Forest Service accountable as this process moves forward.