WASHINGTON (March 1, 2007) — The Wilderness Society announced today that Michael Francis, National Forests Program director, will testify in support of reauthorizing the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act, commonly referred to as The Secure Rural Schools Act. Francis will testify before the US Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests on March 1st at 2 p.m. EST, Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 366, Washington DC.
The 109th Congress failed to pass the successful Secure Rural Schools Act, which stabilized funding to over 775 rural counties throughout America. This important legislation provided consistent funding to over 4,400 schools, allowed for important forest and stream restoration projects and supported other vital county programs. Without reauthorization, rural counties could be forced to cut back critical services to their communities.
“The Wilderness Society actively supports the full reauthorization of this essential bill,” stated Francis. “As enacted in 2000, this legislation successfully stabilized payments to rural schools and funded many environmentally beneficial projects on National Forests.”
Unfortunately, for the second consecutive year, the President’s Forest Service budget includes an ill-advised proposal to sell off up to $800 million of National Forest lands in order to fund the Secure Rural Schools Act. A similar proposal announced last year met with strong and widespread opposition from hunters, anglers, locally-elected officials, businesses, governors, and both Democratic and Republican Members of Congress.
“It’s unacceptable that the Administration has failed to listen to the American people and their overwhelming opposition to selling off National Forest lands,” said Francis. “We support assistance to our rural counties and look to Congress to pass a solution that provides this assistance to these communities while protecting our valued public lands for the enjoyment and use by all Americans.”
The Secure Rural Schools Act, if reauthorized, would extend for seven years a measure that provided crucial funding for these counties.
About The Secure Rural Schools Act
Historically, rural counties and schools received 25% of revenues generated by timber sales and other commodity production from the National Forests. This revenue-sharing system created an environmentally harmful incentive for county and school officials to advocate increased logging in National Forests. When National Forest logging revenues declined in the 1990s, many counties and schools faced a budgetary crisis.
Congress changed the funding system for counties and schools in 2000 with passage of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act. The law replaced revenue-sharing with a guaranteed level of payments that was no longer tied to the amount of timber produced from the National Forests.
The Secure Rural Schools Act has provided millions of dollars each year for stewardship-oriented projects on National Forest lands. Funds have been put to good use improving fish and wildlife habitat, controlling noxious weeds, and maintaining roads and trails.
The Secure Rural Schools Act required Congressional reauthorization in order to continue the guaranteed payments and restoration projects. In 2006, President Bush proposed to phase out the Secure Rural Schools program and to pay for the program by selling 300,000 acres of National Forest land. The President's proposal to sell-off National Forest lands met with overwhelming, bi-partisan opposition. Congress failed to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools legislation and the program expired in September 2006.
Get more information about S. 380 and a copy of the testimony.
