[MCN] Fwd: [badkitty] Daines, Tester, Zinke Introduce Legislation to Reverse Disastrous Court Ruling

[Matthew Koehler]

Shame on Senator Tester, Senator Daines, Rep Ryan ZInke and the people on
this press release who are undermining America's judicial branch of
government and America's public lands and wildlife.

Make no mistake, if you are concerned with what might happen over the next
few years in Washington D.C. at the hands of the GOP controlled Congress
and President Trump on a host of important issues (not just public lands
and environmental issues), you can thank Senator Tester, Senator Daines and
the people listed on this press release for opening up the door to Congress
and President Trump simply passing laws to overturn important rulings from
the U.S. Federal Court System.

Please remember the names of the collaborators and hold them accountable
for this travesty of justice.

Thank you.

- Matthew Koehler
WildWest Institute



*Daines, Tester, Zinke Introduce Legislation to Reverse Disastrous Court
Ruling *

*Cottonwood Decision Harms Commonsense Forest Management Projects*



*U.S. CONGRESS* —U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester and U.S.
Representative Ryan Zinke today underscored the urgency in reversing the
ruling of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in *Cottonwood Environmental
Law Center v. U.S. Forest Service* by introducing bipartisan bicameral
legislation to do just that.



The bill seeks to codify the Obama administration’s position that federal
agencies are not required to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service at
a programmatic level when new critical habitat is designated or a new
species is listed.



*“Congress needs to take urgent action to reverse the disastrous activist
court ruling for the sake of forest health, recreation, and watershed and
habitat protection,”* Daines stated. *“By seeking a simple fix and
codifying the Obama administration’s own position into law we can protect
Montana jobs and continue with commonsense collaborative forest management
projects that have been harmed by this court decision.”*



*“This bipartisan bill starts the conversation about how to address the
Cottonwood decision, and is the first step in ensuring Montana’s outdoor
economy isn’t crippled by unnecessary red tape,” *said Tester.  *“The
Cottonwood decision could not only handcuff responsible timber projects,
but it could also stifle trail maintenance, critical conservation efforts,
and efforts to increase public access to our favorite hunting and fishing
spots.”*



*“Our forests are in poor health in part because of activist judges who
would rather see them burn to the ground than properly managed,” *Zinke
stated.* “The legislative fix the senators and I are proposing is simple
and noncontroversial. I see no reason why we cannot reverse this decision
as quickly as possible to protect jobs, recreation, and habitat.”*



Currently there are conflicting circuit court interpretations in the
Ninth (*Cottonwood
Environmental Law Center v. Forest Service*) and Tenth Circuits (*Forest
Guardians v. Forsgren*) on this matter of wide-ranging import, but the
Supreme Court denied the Department of Justice’s petition to settle the
discrepancy.



*Julia Altemus, Montana Wood Products Association: *“This disastrous Court
ruling could cripple access to wood for Montana's mills who are already
struggling to survive and undermine many collaborative projects that are
already in process. Thank you to Senator Daines, Senator Tester and
Representative Zinke for working to reverse this job-killing court ruling.”



*Mac Minard, Executive Director Montana Outfitters and Guides
Association: *“Montana’s
outfitters and guides rely on Montana’s treasured landscape and the
management of that asset. The delegations effort to mitigate process
requirements for land managers and allow them to manage and restore our
National Forests is vital to the continued success of the many small
business across Montana that rely on the great outdoors.”



*Errol Rice, Executive Vice President, Montana Stockgrowers: *“The
implications that the Cottonwood decision could have on not only forest
management projects in Montana, but also on efforts to improve grazing or
outdoor recreational opportunities are dire. The Montana Stockgrowers
Association thanks Sen. Daines, Sen. Tester and Representative Zinke for
introducing this bill to reverse this harmful decision and for their
efforts on behalf of Montana’s ranchers.”



*Ravalli County Commissioner Greg Chilcott, Coalition of Forested Counties,
Montana Association of Counties: *“The Ninth Circuit Court’s ruling in
Cottonwood Environmental Law Center vs. U.S. Forest Service, if left to
stand, would drastically increase the regulatory burden on federal agencies
and further delay needed forest management. This bipartisan legislation to
reverse this unnecessary requirement will allow the Forest Service to
continue their important restoration work to increase the health and
resiliency of our national forest lands.”



*Dale Bosworth, Retired Chief of the United States Forest Service: *“With a
career dedicated to managing the health of our national forests, I greatly
appreciate the delegation’s efforts to reverse a crippling 9th circuit
decision that would further reduce the Forest Service's capacity to carry
out their mission. With robust analysis on the ground in every project, the
Forest Service is held to high standards in regards to critical habitat and
endangered species and additional regulatory burdens courtesy of the 9th
Circuit court are unwarranted and unnecessary. This legislation will allow
the agency to continue their important work and get more restoration work
done across Montana.”



*David Allen, President & CEO, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation: “*The Rocky
Mountain Elk Foundation applauds Senator Daines, Senator Tester and
Representative Zinke for introducing legislation to reverse the Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals Cottonwood v. U.S. Forest Service decision. The
court’s decision will delay management projects on federal lands that are
needed to reduce wildfire risks, improve forest health and wildlife habitat
and enhance recreational opportunities. The decision encourages endless
litigation to stop projects that have already been evaluated and approved
by federal agencies. We need legislation like this to keep frivolous
lawsuits from delaying and stopping important federal land management
projects.”



*Joel Webster, Director, Center for Western Lands, Theodore Roosevelt
Conservation Partnership: *“TRCP and, moreover, America’s sportsmen and
women are committed to finding sensible ways of improving our national
forests to the point that they support not only thriving populations of
fish and wildlife, but also our hunting and fishing opportunities. A
variety of factors have slowed the active management of our national
forests dramatically, negatively impacting forest health, including
wildlife populations. Bipartisan legislation authored by Senator Daines,
Senator Tester, and Representative Zinke, which would reverse the Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals decision in the case of *Cottonwood v. United
States Forest Service, *addresses one of the challenges to increasing
management and restoration of our national forests, and we hope that
Congress will act on this reasonable legislation.”



*Doug Ferrell, Board Chairman, The Friends Of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness: *“The
Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness applauds and supports the work of
Sen. Daines and Tester and Rep. Zinke on bipartisan legislation to minimize
problems and delays from the recent Cottonwood court decision. Based on our
extensive participation in forest collaborative groups in both Idaho and
Montana, we are aware that forest projects receive rigorous analysis of
resource impacts. More layers of analysis are clearly not needed and would
only serve to add expense and delay.”



*Becky Humphries, Chief Conservation and Operations Officer for the
National Wild Turkey Foundation: *“The National Wild Turkey Federation
strongly supports the efforts of Senator Daines, Senator Tester and
Representative Zinke to reverse the ninth Circuit decision pertaining to
the Endangered Species Act, Section 7 consultation for an approved National
Forest Plan.”



According to the U.S. Forest Service
<http://www.daines.senate.gov/download/forestserviceoncottonwood>, 80
vegetation management projects and hundreds of millions of board feet are
at risk due to Cottonwood.



*The text of the bill can be found **HERE.*
<http://www.daines.senate.gov/download/cottonwoodbill>
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