WASHINGTON (WVDN) – Recently, Senator Jim Justice introduced bipartisan legislation alongside U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-MT), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Raphael Warnock (D-GA):
“In West Virginia, we know the value of our forests and the importance of managing them wisely—not just for the beauty and recreation they offer, but also for the jobs and strengthening our economy. This bipartisan bill supports our rural economies, protects our communities from wildfires, and makes the most of what our land gives us. It’s a win for the economy, environment and for our people,” Senator Jim Justice said.
“70 percent of Montana’s forests are federally owned, and we need to be doing all we can to ensure we’re good stewards of these lands. I’m proud to co-lead this bipartisan bill that will support proper forest management and create new markets for low value woody biomass,” said Senator Daines.
“To protect our communities from increasingly catastrophic wildfires, we need to make forest management more effective and scalable,” said Heinrich. “By expanding technology transfer at the Forest Service and turning small-diameter trees into marketable wood products, we can create new revenue streams, scale up fuels reduction, and accelerate the work needed to reduce wildfire risk.”
“Georgia’s forestry industry is vital to our state’s economy and I’m proud to work with my colleagues to find a bipartisan solution to invest in the future success of this sector,” said Senator Warnock.
BACKGROUND:
The Forest Bioeconomy Act would:
- Create an Office of Technology Transfer at the Forest Service.
- Establish technology transfer agreements as key performance indicators for the USFS research division.
- Create a voucher program to give small businesses and startups discounted user fees for federal research equipment at USFS laboratories.
- Give the National Forest Foundation, the Congressionally chartered foundation for USFS, authorization to assist with the commercialization of USFS research.
- Create a coordinating entity to ensure that academic research on wood use is meeting the needs of the industry.
