On May 18, the New Hampshire State Legislature
adopted Senate Joint Resolution 1. The resolution covered a broad range of issues
relating to the Whit Mountains National Forest Management Plan. The issues covered
in the resolution included elements relating to the Forest Service's Recreation
Fee Demonstration Program in the White Mountains National Forest.
The resolution reads as follows:
"A RESOLUTION concerning the status of the White Mountain National Forest within the U.S. Forest Service's forest management plan.
Whereas, the White Mountains National Forest, established by the Weeks Act almost a century ago, through the efforts of New Hampshire citizens, represents the successful application of the principles of natural resource protection combined with multiple use; and
Whereas, the Weeks Act established that the White Mountains National Forest be used to ensure watershed protection, a sustainable and continuous supply of timber, and recreational opportunities for citizens; and
Whereas, timber harvesting in the White Mountain National Forest is a legitimate and important activity, contributing an estimated $25,000,000 in economic activity and 450 jobs to the rural economics of New Hampshire and Maine; and
Whereas, the White Mountain National Forest is beginning to undertake its Forest Planning process, which purports to use public involvement to make collaborative decisions; and
Whereas, the Forest Service budget should provide adequate funds for employing experienced forest service personnel who can manage the forests effectively and efficiently in accordance with the realistic and broadly supported Forest Management Plan and cuts to the Forest Service budget impact all the communities which co-exist with the National Forest;"
Whereas, for towns to survive and be able to provide essential services to their citizens and to National Forest visitors, they must be financially viable, and just as the residents of the towns pay their fair share of taxes to the federal government, the federal government should pay its promised fair share of payments in lieu of taxes to the towns;
Whereas, while the Fee Pilot Program is providing needed revenue to the forest, it is supplanting essential funding that should be provided by a fully funded Forest Service budget, a budget which is sufficient to cover normal and anticipated Forest Service operations and capital equipment needs;
Whereas, decisions to increase or decrease roadless and wilderness areas in the White Mountain National Forest should be based on sound science and good planning, as well as historical and traditional uses; and
Whereas, rationale for the creation of the White Mountain National Forest was that it would be a multiple use resource; and
Whereas, conservation and preservation of the forest's lands, watersheds, wildlife habitats, natural scenic beauty, and resource use and recreation was the intent of the 1911 Weeks Act; and
Whereas, this approach has become a tradition and the ethic for the forest throughout its 90 years of successful service to the citizens of the north country and its 5,000,000 users per year, the American public; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives in General Court convened:
That traditional income generating uses of the forest that will provide a stable source of revenue to the forest, the state, and the towns should be continued and Congress should define ways to allow the revenue from these Forest Service-related activities to remain with the White Mountain National Forest with a portion reimbursed to local communities;
That if the Fee Pilot Program is to continue, it should be designated for special projects and unforeseen needs of the forest;
That if the White Mountain National Forest is to continue under budgetary constraints and Congress does not fully fund its payments in lieu of taxes, it is the opinion of the general court that citizens of the north country should be exempt from the Fee Pilot Program;
That the Forest Service needs greater flexibility to allow more practical forest management, enchanced use, and increased productivity in order to achieve its goals and objectives under the Forest Service Management Plan; and
That the Forest Service staff, with advice from the public, should establish a set of criteria that reflects the shared values of the communities which they will use when making decisions on all future designations of the roads and roadless and wilderness areas, as well as renewal of an existing roads and roadless and wilderness areas; and
That the economic impact on affected north country communities must be considered when adding more forest land to the White Mountain National Forest, since towns that co-exist with the White Mountain National Forest lose revenue from property taxes when town land is acquired by the National Forest; and
That, if additional land is added to the forest, there should be a corresponding increase in Forest Service administrative, operational, and capital budgets; and
That the Forest Service's budget, regulations, and administrative procedures needs to recognize and provide support for the significant contributions of volunteers and partnerships which are vital to the management of the White Mountain National Forest; and
That, in addition to timber management, multiple recreational and economic uses of the forest should continue; and
That Congress should enact legislation that will control unrealistic legal appeals of conservationist groups, since conservationists need to work for change in the White Mountains National Forest within the framework of the Forest Management Plan; and
That copies of this resolution be forwarded by the senate clerk to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the majority and minority leadership of the Senate, and each member of the New Hampshire congressional delegation.
Approved: June 1, 2000"