COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
10:00 a.m.

• Official Hearing Transcript
• Press Release - All Witnesses Agree: Litigation, Red Tape Fuel Megafires that Damage Forests, Communities, and Species (7/24/2012)

OVERSIGHT HEARING ON:

• "The Impact of Catastrophic Forest Fires and Litigation on People and Endangered Species: Time for Rational Management of our Nation's Forests"

OPENING STATEMENT:

The Honorable Doc Hastings
Chairman

WITNESSES AND TESTIMONY:

Panel I

Jose Varela Lopez
President-Elect
New Mexico Cattle Growers Association
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Bill Crapser
Chairman-elect
Council of Western State Foresters
Cheyenne, Wyoming
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Alison Berry
Energy & Economics Expert
The Sonoran Institute
Bozeman, Montana
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Rick Dice
President
National Wildfire Suppression Association
Redmond, Oregon
(Truth in Testimony Form)

BACKGROUND:

This is the third in a series of full committee oversight hearings on Endangered Species Act (ESA) sub-topics. The hearing will examine the impact of megafires on communities, endangered species, and their habitats and how environmental litigation has contributed to the deterioration of forest health. Environmental groups use litigation or the threat of litigation as a means to stop forest thinning and timber sales, practices that help reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. This hearing will look at how these megafires that destroy endangered species and their habitats could be reduced with better management of our forests.

Other Hearings in the Series:

• Hearing - Full Committee Oversight Hearing on "Taxpayer-Funded Litigation: Benefitting Lawyers and Harming Species, Jobs and Schools" (6/19/2012)

• Hearing - Full Committee Oversight Hearing on "The Endangered Species Act: How Litigation is Costing Jobs and Impeding True Recovery Efforts (12/6/2011)