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Legislative Forestry Task Force Releases Report, Recommendations
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The Legislative Forestry Task Force issued a report Friday on issues as diverse as the impacts of forest buffers, carbon sequestration, development of Marcellus Shale and the role of biomass to produce energy.
The Task Force was formed as a result of House Resolution 429 sponsored by Rep. Gary Haluska (D-Cambria) in 2009 under the auspices of the Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee chaired by Rep. Scott Hutchinson (R-Venango).
The Task Force was first established by resolution in 1994 and has continued its work ever since, either through a continuing series of resolutions or at the behest of the advisory committee and the task force’s own members.
The Task Torce offers advice to the Pennsylvania General Assembly on forest management, and a number of its recommendations have resulted in either new laws, regulations or best management practices designed to sustain Pennsylvania forestry.
The task force’s role is important because Pennsylvania forests cover some 17 million acres, not only providing jobs, but also providing environmental benefits, recreational and tourism opportunities, abundant mineral resources, and habitat for animals and plants.
The forest products industry employs more than 60,000 Pennsylvanians in more than 2,200 forest product companies, which run the gamut from sawmills to fine cabinet-making shops.
The task force conducted five meetings, listening to presentations from a number of experts on the above issues. After discussion and deliberation, the task force and the advisory committee developed a number of recommendations to address each of the issues.
A list of the presenters and summaries of the issues, the presentations and the discussions about each issue are contained in the report. The report also lists the recommendations of the task force in regard to each issue.
Some recommendations are aimed at state and federal agencies, laws and regulations, and others at forestland owners, educational institutions and private organizations.
Also included in the report is a summary of a 2009 public hearing held by the Committee in collaboration with the task force on green building certification standards. The purpose of the hearing was to receive testimony on the impact of certification systems, like the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, on the timber industry.
The Task Force will be taking up a new set of issues in this legislative session, as set forth in House Resolution 309 (Hutchinson-R-Venango). The resolution has been reported out of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and is awaiting action on the House floor when the House reconvenes in September.
House Resolution 309 includes five new task force topics:
-- the impact of cash flow and working capital shortages on forest product companies and future forestry activities;
-- the impacts of Marcellus shale drilling-related road postings, both state and local, on forest product companies;
-- the policies for and training of individuals engaged in gas-related land clearing on Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) lands, focusing on the benefits of having land clearing operators for the Marcellus industry held to the training standard mandated for loggers;
-- the impacts of declining state support for forestry and forest products-related research; and
-- the current and future impacts of invasive forest pests on Pennsylvania’s forests.
A copy of the report is available online.
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7/25/2011 |
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