Natural Resources Committee

When we talk of PILT funding, we should never lose sight of the fact that it is a very, very poor substitute for revenues generated locally by healthy economic activity and federal revenue sharing. Our ultimate objective should be not to institutionalize PILT, but to restore active management of our federal lands and a healthy balance between federal land ownership and productive private ownership of the lands within each county in the nation.

The overarching objectives of this subcommittee bear repeating: to restore public access to the public lands; to restore good management to the public lands, and to restore the Federal government as a good neighbor to those communities most impacted by the public lands.

Forty-five years ago, Congress enacted laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act, that promised to improve the health of our forests. They imposed what have become endlessly time-consuming and ultimately cost-prohibitive restrictions on our ability to properly manage our national forests so that we can match the tree density with the ability of the land to support it. After 45 years of experience with these laws, I think we’re entitled to ask, “How are the forests doing?” The answer is damning.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 289, the Guides and Outfitters -- or GO Act -- offered by my Natural Resources Committee colleague and California neighbor, Congressman Doug LaMalfa. For many years, we have seen increasingly severe restrictions on the public’s use of the public land. One of the most galling aspects of this exclusionary policy is the use of exorbitant fees to prevent many group events and small business services that are often the economic mainstay of small mountain communities like those in my district in the Sierra Nevada.

Today, the Subcommittee on Federal Lands meets to discuss HR 3668, the “Sportsmen's Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act of 2017” or “Share Act.” The Share Act combines provisions from previous legislation passed by the House in the 112th, 113th and 114th congresses. Its purpose is to increase opportunities for hunters, recreational shooters, and anglers; eliminate regulatory impediments; safeguard against new regulations that impede outdoor sporting activities; and protect Second Amendment rights.