McClintock has choice words for U.S. Forest Service
Publisher’s note: Tom McClintock, R-Granite Bay, delivered the following remarks Jan. 7 on the House floor about National Forests and the U.S. Forest Service. McClintock represents the California side of Lake Tahoe in the House of Representatives.
Much of my district comprises forests managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Over the last two years, I have received a growing volume of complaints protesting the increasingly exclusionary and elitist policies of this agency.
These complaints charge the Forest Service, among other things, with:
• Imposing inflated fees that are forcing the abandonment of family cabins held for generations;
• Charging exorbitant new fees that are closing down long-established community events upon which many small and struggling mountain towns depend for tourism;
• Expelling long-standing grazing operations on specious grounds – causing damage both to the local economy and the federal government’s revenues; and
• Obstructing the sound management of our forests through a policy that can only be described as benign neglect, creating both severe fire dangers and massive unemployment.
Practiced in the marketplace, we would renounce these tactics as predatory and abusive. In the public service sector, they are intolerable.
Combined, these actions evince an ideologically driven hostility to the public’s enjoyment of the public’s land – and a clear intention to deny the public the responsible and sustainable use of that land.
Most recently, the Forest Service has placed severe restrictions on vehicle access to the Plumas National Forest, despite volumes of public protests. Supervisor Bill Connelly, chairman of the Butte County Board of Supervisors, writes that, “The restriction applies to such activities as: collecting firewood, retrieving game, loading or unloading horses or other livestock, and camping.” He writes, “The National Forests are part of the local fabric. The roads within the National Forests are used by thousands of residents and visitors for transportation and recreation. These activities generate revenue for our rural communities, which are critical for their survival.”
This is not a small matter. The Forest Service now controls 193 million acres within our nation – a land area equivalent to the size of Texas.
During the despotic eras of Norman and Plantagenet England, the crown declared one-third of the land area of Southern England to be the royal forest, the exclusive preserve of the monarch, his forestry officials and his favored aristocrats. The people of Britain were forbidden access to and enjoyment of these forests under harsh penalties. This exclusionary system became so despised by the people that in 1215, five clauses of the Magna Carta were devoted to redress of grievances that are hauntingly similar to those that are now flooding my office.
The attitude that now permeates the U.S. Forest Service from top to bottom is becoming far more reminiscent of the management of the royal forests during the autocracy of King John than of an agency that is supposed to encourage, welcome, facilitate and maximize the public’s use of the public’s land in a nation of free men and women.
After all, that was the vision for the Forest Service set forth by its legendary founder, Gifford Pinchot in 1905: “to provide the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people in the long run.”
In May of 2009 and April of 2010, some of my California colleagues and I sent letters to the Forest Service expressing these concerns. I have also personally met with senior officials of that agency on several occasions in which I have referenced more than 500 specific complaints of Forest Service abuses received by my office.
All that I have received to date from these officials are smarmy assurances that they will address these concerns – assurances that their own actions have belied at every turn.
It is time for Congress to conduct a top-to-bottom review of the abuses by this increasingly unaccountable and elitist agency, to demand accountability for the damage it has done – and is doing – to our forests’ health, to the public’s trust, to the government’s revenues and to the nation’s economy – and to take whatever actions are necessary to restore an attitude of consumer-friendly public service which was Gifford Pinchot’s original vision and for which the U.S. Forest Service was once renowned and respected.
Bravo for Mr. McClintock’s comments, it is about time to reign in the outrageous behavior of the agencies that work for the public. I have experienced the arrogance of these government thugs personally and support their return to serving the public, not ruling over the public. Living in Lake Tahoe for well over thirty years, of course I am an environmentalist. That does not mean that I cannot use the environment. The 180 degree shifts in TRPA rules over the years indicates that they don’t really have a clue what they are doing. The costs of their experiments have wasted millions of taxpayer dollars. Good work, Mr. McClintock.
YEAH!
Congressman McClintock was accurate in comparing the Forest Service to the autocratic Plantagenet dynasty of 13th century England. I’ve worked for the Forest Service for over 30 years (25 yrs as an employee, and as a whistle blower/EEO advocate since 2002). Most Regional management in CA (Region 5) believe the forest belongs to them and views the public as a nuisance. I’ve observed this first hand. I, too, have been trying to deal with the officials who have treated me similarly to Congressman McClintock. What he needs to know is that there is a lot of available evidence of corruption and illegal activities occurring in Region 5 that have a direct correlation to why he has so many complaints from the public. (The Plumas NF is one of them). We have evidence of it that we are willing to share with Representatives who are willing to take action. lesa@snowcrest.net
He ought to also keep in touch with the lead investigator regarding who started the Angora Fire. I was told by the investigator they never interviewed the kids who saw the USFS playing with a small fire that exploded into what became known as Angora. The USFS later denied performing a backburn at Gardner Mtn when many witnesses were there when they did it. How can you trust an agency who lies right to your face? Don’t let all of the pretty green trees they maintain fool you about this gov’t agency.
Bob, you have no evidence to back up your claims that the LTBMU started the Angora Fire. You never have, just hearsay and rumor. Their operations are all in public record.
If we need funds to offset the fees required for things like cabins, special events, etc, we should look into why places like ski resorts, round hill pines, camp richardson, zephyr cove resort, and lake tahoe adventure tours pay so little to operate on USFS land. Does the USFS who is the landlord at all of these locations audit their revenues monthly, quarterly or do they drop in once every couple of years and do a scant review. I’ve never seen a USFS fee added to a lift ticket, meal, cruise, marina rentals, or snowmobile ride, For that fact, there are no city or county taxes added either. Why?
Finally, someone stands up and is defending us. These “mountain towns” that McClintock speaks of, refers to us! Bravo!!
McClintock please have your staff do some research. All laws and regulations are passed by Congress. If you have an issue with the forest service, you have an issue with yourself. That goes for fees, permits, authorities, etc.
…sigh…
Living near the USFS is like living in a totalitarian thug controlled country. The USFS is particularly abusive to anyone living in an in holding property (surrounded by USFS land). They have stolen private land repeatedly by simply doing repeated surveys. They represent private roads that they know are private roads as belonging to the USFS, have lied to US Senator Kay Hagan about making corrections. They have ticketed a disabled single mother in an armed sting for defending her right to privacy and private property in response to complaints from five armed hunters who confessed to trespassing on her land and refusing to leave when asked. The USFS has encouraged trespassing on this private land and lied about ownership of gates, roads and boundaries. This is an agency riddled with corruption and lacking any sense of honor.