SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL PARKS, FORESTS AND PUBLIC LANDS
Unruh Hearing Room, California State Capitol Building, Sacramento, California
Monday, September 19, 2011
10:00 a.m. Pacific Time

• Blog - Subcommittee Field Hearing on Restoring Access to Our National Forests Draws a Crowd (9/20/2011)
• Press Release - Witnesses Call for Increased Public Access, Proper Management of Forest Service Land (9/19/2011)
• Committee Action - Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands to Hold California Field Hearing on Restoring Access to Our Public Lands (9/8/2011)

OVERSIGHT FIELD HEARING ON:

• "Restoring Public Access to the Public’s Lands: Issues Impacting Multiple-use on Our National Forests"

Watch the Archived Hearing Webcast:

OPENING STATEMENT:

The Honorable Rob Bishop
Chairman

The Honorable Tom McClintock
Subcommittee Member

The Honorable Wally Herger, CA-02
Member of Congress

WITNESSES AND TESTIMONY:

Panel I

Randy Moore
Regional Forester
Pacific Southwest Region
U.S. Forest Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture

Mike Wood
The United Brotherhood Of Carpenters And Joiners Of America
Local 3074
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Charles Hirst
President
California Enduro Riders Association
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Tom Leavell
Diamond L Ranch
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Michael Jackson
Quincy Library Group
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Panel II

Sheriff Greg Hagwood
Plumas County, CA
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Nick Haris
Western States Representative
American Motorcyclist Association
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Jack Sweeney
El Dorado County Supervisor
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Sam Davidson
California Field Director
Trout Unlimited
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Karen Schambach
California Field Director
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
(Truth in Testimony Form)

BACKGROUND:

The Forest Service manages 193 million acres of land, totaling 8 percent of the United States’ total land mass. In California, 18 national forests cover nearly 20 percent of the State. National forests serve as an important source of job creation, economic activity and recreation for local communities and visitors. However, decades of increasing land-use regulations and policies have nearly brought multiple-use to a standstill through declining timber harvests, grazing and reductions in recreational access. Meanwhile, millions of acres are consumed by devastating wildfire each year and suppression costs have risen to consume nearly 50 percent of the Agency’s budget. This hearing will focus on removing the barriers to multiple-use so that proper management of these lands is restored for the benefit of all taxpayers.