Articles

Washington, D.C.  – Representative Matt Rosendale and U.S. Senator Steve Daines are leading their colleagues in urging the Biden administration to resolve challenges stemming from the disastrous Cottonwood decision which threatens Montana forest management projects.

“During a congressional hearing on October 2021, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) testified that unless action is taken to resolve challenges stemming from the 2015 Cottonwood Environmental Law Center v. U.S. Forest Service, (Cottonwood) decision, the agency will have to go through re-consultation, regardless of the merit, on over one-hundred forest plans that “will take years and cost millions of dollars,” threatening to undermine the Administration’s 10 Year Wildfire Crisis Strategy. Despite the impending deadline, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) continues to delay finalizing a rule that would provide immediate relief to the agency,” the letter states. “We urge you to work together to finalize the proposed rule, “Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Regulations for Interagency Cooperation,” in order to preserve the forest planning process, remove legal ambiguities that obstruct important forest projects, and ensure finite agency resources are no longer diverted from conservation needs for this purely procedural exercise.”

In February 2021, Representative Rosendale and Senator Risch (R-ID) sent a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service in support of the proposed rule change to section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. Read more HERE.

In February 2021, Representative Rosendale introduced the Forest Information Reform (FIR) Act, which would amend the Cottonwood requirements for re-consultation in Forest Service plans when new information is found. Read more HERE.

In January 2021, Representative Rosendale published a statement in support of the proposed rule change to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. Read more HERE.

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