Senate passed Healthy Forest Bill 1904

C-Span | 1030-03 | azkathy

[azkathy]

The Senate just voted on the Healthy Forest bill 1904, and passed it 80-14. Fire up the Chain saws let's get rid of some beetle trees! (It still has to go back to the house.)

[blackie]

Eradicate all enviornazis, Now!

[blackie]

GWB is the man!

[gathersnomoss]

Yeah, all of these senators are doing it for the people. When will their constituents WAKE UP?

More like a large WACO to them I guess. What is it with fire and this group???

I know this is a slight leap but this group of sludge has me steamed, I say steamed.

[forester]

Great picture. Even better would be to put W in a Timbco feller buncher like this one on the left

These machines have become the thinning tool of choice for smaller trees on relatively gentle ground. The boom reaches out about ten feet, grabs the tree at the base, and saws it off. The machine then picks up the entire tree and lays it down, usually in piles of five to eight trees. A rubber tired grapple skidder then drags the piles to the landings, where the limbs are removed and the top severed. Some of the companies are then running the limbs and tops through a chipper and hauling out the chips for use as fuel to generate power.

The resulting impact to the land is minimal, and the health of the thinned forest improved dramatically. We have the technology, all we need is the political will to use it!

[Grampa Dave]

This looks like a great investment.

Does this company have stock that we can buy?

If so what is the stock ticker symbol?

[forester]

I don't know about stocks. Here is their website Timbco. They are based in Wisconsin. Click history for a good old fashioned american success story.

There are other brands of this type of machinery as well, but Timbco is the most well known in our area.

[Grampa Dave]

I checked that website and there is nothing about stock on it.

[Redbob]

"Big mother saw, Small Effing brain" Alert!

[Chuckster]

I wonder what this idiot's insurance company had to say.

[XHogPilot]

The bill would authorize, subject to future appropriations, $760 million a year for forest management, more than double current spending.

Why aren't we leasing the land to loggers for what States needs most... money. We could have prevented both of our current problems, lack of income and wildland fires. A perfect example of gov mismanagement... for which Calif voters dismissed a Govenor mid-term.

Why must taxpayers pay the bill for something that in the past was an income producer for the state and fed gov? Didn't logging companies pay to harvest our national forests?

[AuntB]

Same ol' crowd. Isn't it amazing...they're all from the east coast where they don't have to watch the forests burn or breathe the smoke. I curse their ugly attitude.

[AuntB]

I think this California recall has scared the bejezus out of Boxer and her ilk. Maybe they're not as dumb as they act.

[forester]

I checked that website and there is nothing about stock on it.

Well, I guess one could call them and ask management if they are a publically traded company. Other then that, I don't know what else to do.

[PeoplesRep_of_LA]

Biden (D-DE))

Clinton (D-NY))

Jeffords (I-VT))

Kennedy (D-MA))

Leahy (D-VT))

Schumer (D-NY)

Wow, some of my favorite people in government right here... I'd love to see how much money the Sierra Club has lobbied for them.

[Dan Evans]

The interior department reports that over 90% of requests for permits for clearing operations were approved,

I'd like to know exactly what the process is to request clearing, how long it takes and how much you have to spend on lawyers.

[Paulus Invictus]

Just wait until the envirowackos, especially the Sierra Club morons, learn that their treasured forests will actually get to live for a century or two.

[Dan Evans]

I recall something about how the U.S. is losing the technology to harvest the larger trees. I remember traveling through oregon about 1970 and seeing logging trucks stacked with four foot diameter trees going down the highway. Do they slill have those or has all that equipment has been sold to Canada?

[forester]

Do they slill have those or has all that equipment has been sold to Canada?

The northwest has lost somewhere around half of the sawmills since the 1970's, and the mills that are left have been modernized with laser guided saws and other gismos. These mills are set up to handle smaller logs (less then 30' on the big end) and are highly automated. Thus, lumber capacity (ie output)is roughly the same or higher then it was in the past.

You are correct in that there are very few large log mills left. Many of the older mills that closed after the owl was listed in 1990 were shut down and scrapped. Some of this equipment went to Canada and other countries. So to answer your question, the technology to process logs is still here, but the infra-structure (sawmills) has been dismantled. The million dollar question is: will the banks loan $$ to small operators to rebuild sawmills after they got burned by the spotted owl induced mill closures of the 1990's? Our local B of A lost several million $ on one family owned sawmill alone, and I think that they will be reluctant to lend $$ in the face of an uncertain timber supply. Hopefully the changes in the Healthy Forest Act restricting enviro appeals will calm the banker's fears.

[dixiechick2000]

Thanks so much for the ping, Gramps.

While I am very glad to see that this was finally passed, I am so sorry so many had to lose their homes and, in some cases, their lives.

My prayers are with the good folks in southern California.

[Oorang]

Save the Spotted Owl!

Here's the best way to save the Spotted Owl:

MAPLE-BARBECUED SPOTTED OWL

1/2 cup white-wine vinegar 1 tablespoon salt 1 cup vegetable oil 5 whole spotted owl breasts (with skin and bone), halved 10 spotted owl thighs 10 spotted owl drumsticks 10 spotted owl wings

maple barbecue sauce (recipe follows) for basting and as an accompaniment

For maple barbecue sauce:2 large onions, chopped fine 2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard 1 1/4 cups ketchup 2 1/2 cups chicken broth 3/4 cup cider vinegar 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup In a bowl whisk together the vinegar and the salt, add the oil in a stream, whisking, and whisk the marinade until it is emulsified.

Divide the owl pieces between 2 large bowls, pour the marinade over them, and let the owl marinate, covered and chilled, overnight. Grill the owl on an oiled rack set about 4 inches over glowing coals for 10 minutes on each side, or until it is cooked through, baste it with some of the barbecue sauce, and grill it, turning it, for 2 minutes more. Serve the owl with the remaining sauce. Make maple barbecue sauce:In a large heavy saucepan combine the onions, the oil, the Worcestershire sauce, the mustard, the ketchup, the broth, the vinegar, and the syrup, bring the mixture to a boil, and simmer it, stirring occasionally, for 50 minutes, or until it is reduced to about 3 1/3 cups. The sauce may be made 1 week in advance and kept covered and chilled. Makes about 3 1/3 cups.

Serves 8 with leftovers