As wildfires rage and the logging industry faces an uncertain future, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., is pushing the topic of forest management with a bill he says will break a logjam of litigation surrounding dozens of timber sales in Montana.

Wednesday, in a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, Daines urged Congress to take action on his bill, the Protect Collaboration for Healthier Forests Act, which he introduced last November.

Daines said during the hearing that the U.S. Forest Service expressed support for establishing a pilot arbitration program for Region I, which includes Montana and Idaho. The Forest Service also agreed with Daines that the threat of litigation impedes restoration projects.

“I was very pleased to receive their support for this bill,” Daines said. “When the Forest Service has to allocate money to putting fires out, it takes away from other projects it could be completing.”

Daines claims his bill will improve the health of national forests and revitalize the timber industry.

The pilot arbitration program would authorize the U.S. Forest Service to use binding arbitration in Montana and Idaho as another way to provide resolutions in disputed forest restoration projects.

“We’ve got more lawyers running around in our national forests than we do loggers,” Daines said. “As we speak there are 27 timber sales currently under litigation in Montana. I can’t even see the mountains out my back door in my home, which are just a few miles away, because of the smoke,” Daines said. “Combating chronic litigation doesn’t erode public input, it safeguards it. It does so by ensuring consensus driven decisions of the majority are not obstructed by isolated dissenters — in most cases, extreme environmental groups.”

Daines said he has also followed the Howe Ridge Fire in Glacier National Park. He said he thinks forest management inside national parks is something that should be considered on a case-by-case basis.

“We lost Sperry Chalet there last year, we lost historic structures inside the park with Howe Ridge and I don’t think anyone wants to see Lake McDonald Lodge burn,” Daines said.

He added that the need to reduce catastrophic wildfires has many benefits, in addition to creating more jobs in the timber industry.

“We’ve seen how erosion can affect waterways where fires burned. And forest management has direct benefits for wildlife,” Daines said. “Elk need open areas to feed and cows like somewhat open areas when they are calving and we need more of that.”

According to information from Daines’ office, there are 27 timber sales under litigation in Montana, of which 21 are enjoined, halting work on more than 17,000 acres. Litigation against forest management projects often takes years to resolve.

He said pilot arbitration authority would bring swifter resolution to disputed projects. In doing so, hazardous fuels reduction projects developed through a collaborative process and are allowed to go forward will be implemented more quickly.

Daines claimed that “We’ve got groups working together on these projects that have the support of the vast majority of people who live and then some fringe, radical environmental group files suit and ties things up for years. It needs to change.”

Last week, the “Teepee Creek” Stewardship Project on the Custer-Gallatin National Forest was halted after one day of work. Daines said the project would have helped reduce fire risks in nearby communities.

Following introduction of the bill, several stakeholders and community leaders offered statements of support. Information from his office indicated support from conservation groups such as the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Wild Sheep Foundation and National Wild Turkey Federation.

The bill is cosponsored by Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and James Risch (R-Idaho).

Reporter Scott Shindledecker can be reached at (406) 758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.