John Barrasso Discusses Wildfire Prevention And Black Hills Timber Production

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During a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on Thursday, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) asked Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz about timber production.

Transcript

00:00Here this morning we really haven't had an opportunity to meet. I've read your

00:03bio. I look forward to working with you in the next few years. Congratulations on

00:07this important appointment, incredibly important for Wyoming. I

00:11appreciate your willingness to join us in Wyoming at the Wyoming Stock Growers

00:15later this month in Cody, Wyoming. I'm glad that you'll be meeting with our

00:20livestock producers and learning how you can help strengthen the management of

00:24our national forests with effective livestock grazing. I also want to

00:28congratulate you and thank you for working with Secretary of Agriculture

00:31Rollins, your work on rescinding the roadless rule a few weeks ago. That rule

00:35to me was outdated. It was outdated policy that has hindered forest management in

00:40Wyoming for years. This is going to restore vital forest health. It's going to help

00:44reduce wildfire risk across the country and help to boost responsible timber

00:49production. So thank you for your leadership there. With regard to timber

00:53production, you know, over two years ago, the Nyman Enterprise announced layoffs and

00:58shift reductions at their Spearfish South Dakota forest products facility. At their

01:04facility in Hewlett, Wyoming, they reduced down to one shift. This has significantly

01:09reduced their capacity as a result of the Biden administration's limiting of

01:14timber production. And this has impacted the sawmills all around. What's the agency

01:19doing to retain the remaining forest products infrastructure in the Black

01:23Hills National Forest? Senator, thank you for that question. We've been working very

01:28closely with the Nyman's and the industry up there to understand the issues and move

01:32forward. So there's three specific things that we've done. We've identified staff

01:35that we've transferred to the Black Hills actually from Washington State to help

01:38assist in preparing sales. We've increased funding for them in the short term to

01:42help, you know, address some of the shortfalls in funding. They've had to do more work. The other

01:46piece is we're collaborating with not only the industry but some NGOs there, Wild

01:50Turkey Federation, Milder Foundation, and also with the state of Wyoming under the

01:54GNA program to increase predictability of that of the program for the Black Hills. So

01:59those are the three things we're doing. Staffing, funding, and collaborating with

02:02those entities to ensure that we have the right plan in place. Thank you. And then

02:05you're helping with the local communities as well. Yes sir. Thank you. Thank you. In terms

02:09of, you said we must steward tax dollars wisely. I appreciate that. You know, we've had a number of

02:16fairly significant fires in Wyoming last year. The House Draw Fire, Johnson County, 175,000 acres. The Elk

02:22Fire, 68,000, I'm sorry, 98,000 acres. Rural communities in the West are bracing again for

02:30this year. And of course, resources are spread thin. Federal and state agencies, I believe, must work

02:36together. So can you talk about how the Forest Service is engaging state, local, and private

02:41partners to ensure we can effectively respond to wildfires? Yes sir. Senator, so first of all,

02:47the National Association of State Foresters represents the state interest in many cases. We've had

02:51ongoing dialogue throughout the year with them. And going into the fire season, we increased that

02:55dialogue. We've had pre-season meetings with all of our cooperators, both at the local government

03:00level, the volunteers, and the state. So those meetings have been accomplished. The big thing,

03:05though, this year, operating agreements are already all in place for all the states,

03:08so that when issues come up in terms of who is going to pay the cost of fighting the fire,

03:12those questions are not going to be in front of us. That's all been agreed to already.

03:16So in terms of that will not impact any tactics or strategies in a fighting fire with some concern

03:20of who's going to pay for those fires. So those are things that we've done pre-season to ensure that

03:24we are prepared and working with our partners. In this committee over the years, we talk about how many

03:30millions of acres of our national forests are at high or very high risk of wildfire. I think it's

03:34about 63 million acres right now. In fiscal year 2024, the U.S. Forest Service treated only about 4

03:42million acres of our national forests. I think it's imperative that the U.S. Forest Service start

03:47planning on how they are going to treat all these high-risk areas within our national forest system.

03:52You inherited the prior administration's budget deficit as well. Can you talk about how you plan to

03:58lead the agency to catch up from the last four years in forest management?

04:02Yes, sir. Thanks for that question. So I think the big thing is relying on partners. If you recall,

04:06there was a disaster bill passed at the end of the year last year. There was about $75 million

04:12that Sierra Pacific is putting that money to use on federal lands to create fuel breaks. So we're going

04:18to be looking at other partnerships, whether that's with NGOs, whether it's directly with industry,

04:22but helping us to manage the national forest system to increase the pace and scale of what we're doing.

04:27So that's a big part of our strategy. It's also going to be relying on states to do that.

04:31And my final question, Mr. Chairman, thanks so much for your indulgence. Just last week,

04:35the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it'll be revising the NEPA regulations, the National

04:42Environmental Policy Act. So I commend you and Secretary Rollins for your efforts to reduce unnecessary red

04:48tape and to streamline the projects. As you're well aware, the Forest Service is required to update and

04:54develop land management plans to guide management of our national forests. I understand the U.S. Forest

05:00Service has been conducting public and stakeholder meetings, so Wyoming's voice will be heard.

05:06Currently Wyoming, the Bridger Teton National Forest and the Black Hills National Forest are undergoing

05:10their forest plan revision process. Can you please give us an update on your timelines for these forest

05:15plans? Yes, sir. Thanks for the question. So the Black Hills Plan was started in 2001. The phase one

05:21assessment is complete and we expect to have the full plan completed in 2027. So there's ongoing

05:26public involvement there on the Bridger Teton plan that was started in 2024. The draft assessment is

05:31out currently today for public review. That public review will end in August of 25. And we expect that

05:37entire process should take two to three years to complete that process. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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