Today, House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) led a bipartisan group of members and staff to the Yale School of the Environment to see their working forest in action and learn more from faculty and subject-matter experts on scientific forest management. Westerman issued the following statement in response:

"What an honor to go back to my roots today and bring my colleagues to my alma mater, the place where I learned so much about how to implement sound forest practices. I believe Republicans and Democrats have so much in common when it comes to forestry; we all share the same goals of healthier forests, cleaner air and water and revitalized wildlife habitat. Unfortunately, in D.C., much of this conversation is overshadowed by partisanship and political grandstanding. That's why I've been eager to get away from the capital to physically show other members in real time what I mean when I talk about scientific forest management. The forest we saw today was actively managed and absolutely thriving. Wildlife flourished, the air was clean and the trees were healthy. This is forest management in action. We need to take these methods and apply them to forests across America that are unhealthy and burning up every year. I look forward to continuing these bipartisan conversations back in D.C. and turning them into sound policy that helps our forests from coast-to-coast thrive for generations to come." 

Background

Members began the day with a briefing from Yale forestry faculty on forest products, wood technology and mass timber in the context of carbon mitigation and sustainable design.

They then headed to the Yale-Myers Forest in Eastford, Conn. and visited several different stands to learn more about the biodiversity, as well as challenges like invasive species and how land managers mitigate the issues. 

Attendees: House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and U.S. Reps. John Curtis (R-Utah), Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.), Val Hoyle (D-Ore.), Ed Case (D-Hawaii), Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), Mike Collins (R-Ga.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), Amata Radewagen (R-American Samoa) and Jim Moylan (R-Guam)