Montana Congressman Steve Daines discusses timber supply with officials at F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber, says policies preventing responsible timber harvesting should be re-examined to create jobs, tackle beetle-kill, reduce forest fire risk

Wendy Lisney

LOS ANGELES , April 5, 2013 (Industry Intelligence Inc.) – Montana Congressman Steve Daines visited F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Co. on March 28 to find out about declining timber supplies from federal lands and the U.S. Small Business Adimistration's timber sale set aside program, Kalispell news channel kaj18 reported.

The SBA program seeks to ensure that small businesses get a fair share of government property sales and leases through set-asides.

Daines said he had seen how timber harvests on public lands had declined by nearly 90%, yet as Montanans drove around the state they saw beetle-kill, dying forests and timber that can not be harvested.

This led to forest fires in the summer and a year-round lack of jobs, said Daines, adding that it was time to re-examine policies that stopped the responsible harvesting of timber.

Daines also visited to Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. in Columbia Falls, where several jobs have recently been added as a result of increasing lumber demand.

The primary source of this article is kaj18, Kalispell, Montana, on March 29, 2013.

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