Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Representative Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee, held a public hearing to review the National Forest System and active forest management.

The U. S. Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, manages the country’s 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which cover 193 million acres.

Members of the Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee called upon Forest Service Chief Thomas Tidwell to use the tools Congress made available in the 2014 farm bill in order to strengthen rural economies and improve the health of the national forest system.

“Harvesting timber in National Forests, such as the Allegheny in Pennsylvania’s Fifth Congressional District, is essential to sustain vibrant rural communities,” said Chairman Thompson.  “Since the 1980s there has been a steep decline in the amount of board feet of timber produced by our national forests. The harvesting of valuable timber is a tool the Forest Service must utilize to effectively and actively manage these federal lands,” Thompson added.

House Committee on Agriculture Chairman K. Michael Conaway said, “The Forest Service was given tools in the farm bill that, if used correctly, will improve its ability to actively manage the national forests in all parts of the country. These tools will reduce the risk of wildfires and help ensure national forests drive the economies of surrounding communities.”