02.10.06

Cantwell Decries Bush Proposal to Gut Successful County Payments Program

Plan would end program’s funding, sell off federal land to provide one-time partial fix

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Friday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) criticized a Bush Administration plan to gut funding for rural schools, emergency services, and other important infrastructure. Instead of funding the successful County Payments program, which supports communities that have traditionally depended on revenue from timber harvests on Forest Service land, the administration’s proposal calls for the sale of federal lands to provide a one-time, inadequate fix.

“The Forest Service’s shortsighted scheme to sell off public forest lands to partially and temporarily fund the County Payments is a non-starter,” said Cantwell, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “This remarkably successful program provides rural Washington counties with critical funding for schools, roads, and emergency response services. Many of Washington’s rural communities depend on this program and I will continue working with my Senate colleagues to ensure this program gets reauthorized.”

Even after the sale of hundreds of thousands of acres of national forest lands, including 7,500 acres in Washington state, the Bush plan proposes to fund the County Payments program at less than half the level it has received during previous years. Since 2001, the county payments program has provided some $2 billion for schools and roads in communities in Washington and other states that have lost timber income due to changes in federal forest policies. Cantwell has fought for full funding of the program, and has joined Senators Larry Craig (R-ID) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) to support legislation that would reauthorize the County Payments program to continue providing much needed funds to rural communities across the Northwest.

“Selling off federal lands instead of funding this important program would not only shortchange rural communities, but also limit recreational opportunities for hunters, anglers, campers, and others who have used these lands for decades,” said Cantwell. “Our state’s forests are an important legacy. We shouldn’t throw them away to make up for this administration’s mixed-up priorities.”

The president’s budget proposal calls for the sale of :

  • 1,300 acres on the Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
  • 2,700 acres on the Wenatchee National Forest
  • 1,900 acres on the Colville National Forest
  • 640 acres on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
  • Smaller parcels on both the Olympic and Gifford Pinchot National Forests
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