Congresswoman Jamie Herrera Beutler has been an outstanding Representative for her district and for the state of Washington. A topic of particular interest to all of us is protecting access to our forests.
http://herrerabeutler.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=366931"Protecting access to our forestsJaime also was successful in her attempt to include language that would direct the U.S. Forest Service to maintain forest roads in a way that preserves recreational opportunity and reduces costs. Currently, the Forest Service cannot adequately maintain 4,078 miles of road and 115 road bridges in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Many of these roads pose safety, environmental and public health threats that must be addressed. This bill would direct the USFS to close and stabilize the roads as opposed to permanently decommissioning them. Along with the recreational opportunities and taxpayer savings created by this provision, access for firefighting and future forest management would still be available."
We should promote similar protection of access to our state public lands.
