Earlier this week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on legislation that would impact forests across California, and nationwide.
The first bill - the Oregon & California Land Grant Act of 2013 (O&C) - would roughly double timber harvests on specific federal lands in the State of Oregon, while protecting old growth trees with added species protections in forests across Oregon. The second bill, the National Forest Jobs and Management Act of 2014, requires the Forest Service to develop logging projects on 7.5 million acres nationwide over a 15-year period. The 7.5 million acres is part of 44.1 million acres that the Forest Service has previously identified as appropriate for timber production. The overall emphasis of the hearing was to find a way to ensure people in rural areas are able to earn a living while concurrently protecting natural resources.