Guest Opinion

Leland G. "Lee" Heinrich, Candidate Idaho State Senate Legislative District 8

Recently, federal land managers are faced with an ever-present funding shortage; and counties in District 8 are faced with higher property taxes if the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act, Public Law 106-393, (Craig/Wyden) is not re-authorized and appropriated. If Craig/Wyden is reauthorized as requested this will almost certainly be the last time and we need a long-term solution.

The National Forest System was formed in 1905 from the Forest Reserves, which were established between 1891 and in 1905 by presidential proclamation. Many counties, including all counties in District 8 found 65 to 90 percent of the lands were sequestered into the new forest reserves, leaving little land for economic development and diminishing the potential tax base to support essential community infrastructure such as roads and schools.

In 1908, in response to the mounting opposition to the reserves in the West, Congress passed a bill, which created a revenue sharing mechanism to offset the effects of removing these lands from economic development. The 1908 Act specified that 25 percent of all revenues generated from the multiple-use management of our National Forests would be shared with the counties to support public roads and public schools. People in our forest counties refer to this as the "Compact with the People of Rural Counties" which was part of the foundation for establishing our National Forest System.

It was the intent of Congress in establishing our National Forests, that they would be managed in a sustained multiple-use manner in perpetuity, and that they would provide revenues for local counties and the federal treasury in perpetuity as they did until 1986. Since then, most counties have seen a decline of over 85 percent in actual revenues generated on our National Forests, largely as a result of the decline in all forms of green and salvage timber harvesting.

In 2000, Congress passed Craig/Wyden which restored the 1908 compact between the people of rural America and the federal government and it has been an enormous success in developing forest health improvement projects and simulating job development and stabilizing community economies.

Craig/Wyden has:

• Restored programs for students in rural schools and prevented the closure of numerous isolated rural schools.
• Funded over 780 rural county road districts and county road departments to address the severe maintenance backlog resulting from decimated road budgets from 1986 to 1999
• Reduced funding from property tax to provide search and rescue work on federally administered lands

Craig/Wyden is a remarkable success story. These funds have restored and sustained essential county infrastructures such as county schools and county roads through Title I. Essential forest improvement projects have been completed through Title II projects funded by forest counties, and planned by diverse stakeholder RAC committees. These groups are reducing management gridlock and building collaborative public lands decision-making capacity in counties across America. Finally, essential services are being supported and developed in forest counties by investing Title III funds. The legacy of Craig/Wyden over the last few years is positive and substantial. This law should be extended so it can continue to benefit the forest counties, their schools, and continue to contribute to improving the health of our National Forests.

The reauthorization of Craig/Wyden is pending before the US Congress and all counties in District 8 are on record as being strongly supportive of fully funding the approval of this Act as well as developing a long-term solution.