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National Forest Sales Update
by Caroline Pufalt

In a previous issue of this newsletter we reported on the Bush administration's 2007 proposal to sell parcels of National Forest land across the country to provide temporary funds for rural schools. Our position, and the position of many other citizen's groups and legislators, is that this a bad idea. But unfortunately this administration has a hard time rejecting bad ideas. Thus the proposal to auction off 300,000 acres of National Forest land is included in the president's 2008 proposed budget. Included are about 21,500 acres from Missouri's Mark Twain National Forest.

The basics of this misbegotten notion is that because rural schools, primarily in the northwest receive less money than they did in the 1980s from a portion of timber sales in neighboring National Forests, we should now sacrifice National Forest land across the country to provide a short term funding solution. Actually we had a longer term funding solution in a program called the Secure Rural School and Community Development Act of 2000. But that is up for renewal and the administration cannot or will not find the funds elsewhere to renew it.

The proposal to replace that program with a shortsighted one time sell off of public lands received such opposition last year that when reintroduced this year the scheme had to be modified to try to appease opposition. The revised proposal was changed to permit a portion of funds gained from the sales to remain within the state in which the National Forest is located.

While this makes the proposal regionally more fair it does not change the reality of the proposal. It still provides no long term solution for school funding. And it would violate standard practices by selling public lands without following usual procedures which apply to public land sales, namely opportunity for citizen input, environmental assessment of parcels chosen and the opportunity for land exchange as a means to improve public holdings.

Despite the modest change noted above, the proposal is still unpopular. Most citizens value both our public lands and rural education. But they clearly see this short term fix as neither the answer to education funding or public lands stewardship.

Another nefarious angle to this National Forest lands sale idea is how it could figure in the federal budget. The administration could get credit in its budget for these lands sales as proposals to help "balance" its budget. This accounting option was created back in 1995 but Congress is considering an amendment to remove this sleight of hand.
At this writing Congress is considering extending and funding the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination act for another year. That would remove immediate pressure to support the land sales and set a precedent for more sustainable funding for education.

Also we are not aware of any Missouri Representative or Senator who has come out fully in favor of this National Forest land sale proposal. But, it is always a good idea to let your legislators know your opposition. After all this is a bad idea that keeps coming back.