for the Siskiyou Hiker
16 DECEMBER 2021 | WASHINGTON — US Forest Service Deputy Chief Chris French recently provided testimony to the Senate Committee for Energy and Natural Resources. At times it seemed French was trying to illustrate that his agency welcomed a shift toward recreation, but was understaffed, only to be cut off by Senators. The Committee Chair, Joe Manchin, put French in the hot seat because the agency had not produced information that had been requested at a previous meeting.
“What’s the time delay?” the Senator growled. “You’ve got more money coming in now, I mean, hopefully we’re giving you the resources you need. Nobody’s coming to work?”
“It’s the sheer volume of work and the number of people we have doing it–” said French.
But before he could complete his thought, Manchin interrupted. “People aren’t coming to work,” he said, and moved the conversation to another panelist.
Later in the hearing, Washington State Senator Maria Cantwell asked French if he thought trails on our federal lands would be closed or inaccessible if more funding is not provided.
“Yes, if it is not commensurate with the backlog we have. There are a series of critical trails right now…if we can’t maintain, we’ll have to close them,” responded French. He then agreed to provide Cantwell a list.
The Deputy Chief expressed his support for partnerships. “We combine the interests of communities…and ourselves to collaboratively invest in creating something” we couldn’t do on our own, said French.
When asked by Senator Heinrich of New Mexico to expand on the economic influence of recreation, French said, “It dwarfs other sectors. By far when you look at it as a comparison, the outdoor recreation and associated use is the largest single [economic] driver.”
They both pointed out that recreation wasn’t subsidized or written into legislation the way other economic drivers like timber and grazing are.
Read French’s prepared testimony and check out the full hearing here. ###
