Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced a goal of removing more national forest timber and upping funds for collaborative management by $16 million to battle bark beetles and other problems.
He also announced 10 new collaborative forest-management projects involving industry and environmentalists last week. Several of those are in the Rockies, but none is in Utah.
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"The desire and the aim here is to move beyond the forest conflicts of the past," Vilsack said in a conference call with reporters.
The Forest Service hopes to increase forest health-related mechanical cuttings from 212,000 acres this year to 255,000 acres in 2015. Bark beetles have affected more than 40 million acres of Western forests since 1997, and the agency has had to focus scarce funds on areas with high resource or recreation priority.
The new funds for collaborative projects will boost that program to $40 million invested in 20 projects, including in every Rocky Mountain state besides Utah.
The initiative is in addition to about $100 million the agency is spending this year to clear safety hazards and otherwise respond to afflicted forests.
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