For additional information or 
comment from Rep. Green, contact:
Chris Tuttle (office) 202-226-7402
(pager) 800-759-8888 PIN#1754041

WASHINGTON – For people who live in and around National Forests, the last year has been a roller coaster ride. Various proposals by the Clinton administration and U.S. Forest Service have threatened to limit and even cut off access to forests that often serve as the recreational and economic lifeblood of Wisconsin’s northern communities.

In response, U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-Green Bay) issued a stern warning to the Forest Service and White House Thursday on the floor of he U.S. House of Representatives.

"Washington bureaucrats need to know that we will not stand for their efforts to significantly restrict access to our forests," Green said. "Local communities deserve to be heard, and they need to be a part of management decisions."

Green also said the proposed new regulations go against the original intent of the Wisconsin Legislature when it made its 1924 decision to release state land to the federal government for use as National Forests.

"The federal government’s stated purpose when it bought these lands was to restore them to a condition of maximum productivity and make them sources of permanent timber supply and bases for wood-using businesses and communities," Green said. "These new restrictions clearly go against that purpose. If we had known then what we know now, would we have agreed to give this land to the federal government?"

Green made his remarks during floor debate over the Fiscal Year 2001 Department of Interior funding bill, which includes funding for the Forest Service. In particular, Green stressed problems with the recently-proposed draft of the so-called "Roadless Areas Initiative."