{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://gianforte.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/gianforte-local-official-advocate-forest-management-reform-capitol-hill", "Gianforte, Local Official Advocate Forest Management Reform on Capitol Hill", "2017-09-29", "2017", "2017-09", "Republican", "House", "MT", "Greg Gianforte", "G000584", "gianforte.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Montana Congressman Greg Gianforte and Ravalli County Commissioner Greg Chilcott addressed the need for effective forest management in a congressional hearing yesterday.\nA member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Gianforte introduced Chilcott at a subcommittee hearing on \u201cExploring Solutions to Reduce Risks of Catastrophic Wildfire and Improve Resiliency of National Forests.\u201d\nCommissioner Chilcott provided insight about the challenges Montana\u2019s local officials face with wildfires.\n\u201cOur once-vibrant timber has been left in shambles, our infrastructure decimated, and our scenic beauty scarred for decades to come. These trends will continue unless Congress acts,\u201d Chilcott said.\nChilcott advocated an approach to federal forest management that seeks and values the input of local communities. Chilcott continued, \u201cWe need federal policy that promotes a local, collaborative, consensus-driven, decision-making process. Counties know that forests can be actively managed in a sustainable manner ensuring the health of our federal lands and our local communities.\u201d\nChilcott testified, \u201cActive forest management will help us achieve the healthy forests that are essential to clean air and clean water. By improving forest\u2019s health and reducing the dead and dying timber, we can reestablish a thriving ecosystem that improves the economy and the environment.\u201d\nGianforte is a co-sponsor of the Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017. The legislation is a bipartisan solution that addresses how federal forests are managed. The bill streamlines the approval process for forest management projects by encouraging parties to come to the table early instead of filing frivolous lawsuits late in the process to block approved projects. The measure solves how the federal government funds the suppression of catastrophic fires and responsibly ends the process of fire-borrowing. The legislation also provides for an expedited review for collaborative projects up to 30,000 acres in size, and it requires analysis to be weighed against a \u201cno action\u201d alternative and the impacts of doing nothing on forest health.\nDuring the summer, Gianforte met with local officials as well as incident commanders and firefighters during his listening tour of Montana\u2019s 56 counties. Local leaders provided feedback about how to address wildfires. Incident commanders and firefighters at five fires \u2013 including the July fire in Zortman, the Lodgepole Complex fires, the Bruner Mountain fire, the Park Creek fire, and the Lolo Peak fire \u2013 discussed efforts to contain wildfires.\nVideo of Gianforte\u2019s introduction of Chilcott may be found here here.  \n\tVideo of Chilcott\u2019s testimony on the need for forest management reform may be found here.  \n\tVideo of Gianforte discussing effective forest management with Chilcott may be found here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://gianforte.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/gianforte-local-official-advocate-forest-management-reform-capitol-hill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5897138509899378, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}