WASHINGTON – Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., issued the following statement Tuesday regarding the tenth anniversary of the Northwest Forest Plan:
“The tenth anniversary of the Clinton Northwest Forest Plan reminds us that jobs and the environment need not be mutually exclusive. Ten years ago, President Clinton promised Oregon conservation and a sustainable level of timber harvest. But during his presidency, the pledge we made to thousands of Oregon families went unfulfilled. In some places, like the Umpqua National Forest, timber harvest has decreased 99 percent since 1989 and jobs have simply disappeared. At the same time, millions of acres of endangered species habitat have gone up in smoke.
“President Bush is making good on both parts of Clinton’s promise. By providing additional funding and improved procedures for the Northwest Forest Plan, he is returning desperately needed family-wage jobs to Oregon. Through his Healthy Forests Initiative, President Bush and federal agencies are protecting habitat from wildfire, while providing the promise of new jobs to hard-hit communities.”
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