[From nobody Fri Aug 13 19:13:05 2010 Received: from a-ess-ironp2.senate.gov ([156.33.195.65]) by mail.turbonet.com (Cactus Mail Server v9.4.0) with ESMTP id WIM77221 for <lfalen@turbonet.com>; Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:50:21 -0700 X-IronPort-AV: E=Sophos;i="4.55,366,1278302400"; d="scan'208,217";a="462593" Received: from hubtransportpcf.senate.gov (HELO SHARED-WSH-HT03.shared.ussenate.us) ([156.33.248.19]) by a-ess-ironp2.senate.gov with ESMTP/TLS/RC4-MD5; 13 Aug 2010 20:50:20 -0400 Received: from SENATE-EX05.senate.ussenate.us ([156.33.248.44]) by SHARED-WSH-HT03.shared.ussenate.us ([156.33.248.19]) with mapi; Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:50:20 -0400 From: "Crapo News Release (Crapo)" <newsclips@crapo.senate.gov> Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:50:19 -0400 Subject: Clearwater Basin Collaborative Funded Thread-Topic: Clearwater Basin Collaborative Funded Thread-Index: Acs7Sqn15ziP5aj+Tp+r3b0n/ngwcg== Message-ID: <EF22B21D8CEAA148B030C28A9708DB9E01814C447D@SENATE-EX05.senate.ussenate.us> Accept-Language: en-US Content-Language: en-US X-MS-Has-Attach: X-MS-TNEF-Correlator: acceptlanguage: en-US Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="_000_EF22B21D8CEAA148B030C28A9708DB9E01814C447DSENATEEX05sen_" MIME-Version: 1.0 --_000_EF22B21D8CEAA148B030C28A9708DB9E01814C447DSENATEEX05sen_ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE = CONTACT: Susan Wheeler (202) 224-5150 August 13, 2010 = Lindsay Nothern (208= ) 344-1108 CLEARWATER BASIN COLLABORATIVE FUNDED $1 million committed for project that could eventually create more than 350= jobs Lewiston - A collaborative land management effort in Idaho's Clearwater Bas= in that could create or maintain more than 350 jobs over the next ten years= has been selected for federal funding through the U.S. Forest Service. Id= aho Senator Mike Crapo convened the Clearwater Basin Collaborative (CBC) Wo= rk Group two years ago in an effort to find consensus on land management is= sues such as timber harvest, habitat improvement and species management. Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Forest Service Chief T= om Tidwell agreed to allocate an initial $1 million for the CBC out of fund= ing under the Forest Landscape and Restoration Act (FLRA). Nine other proj= ects, including one in Montana, also received startup funding. The Forest Service established a review panel to offer recommendations on w= hich projects to choose for funding under the Forest Restoration Act. Memb= ers of the Clearwater Basin Collaborative traveled to Washington, D.C. last= month to discuss funding recommendations and also met with Crapo in his Wa= shington office. Today, Crapo said he was not surprised the Secretary and = Forest Service Chief agreed with their agency's recommendations on funding. "It is no accident that the Clearwater Basin Collaborative is being univers= ally recognized as a management model for the nation," Crapo said. "Collab= oration breaks barriers. Collaboration brings people together to find comm= on solutions. Now, the Clearwater project may soon bring more than 350 goo= d-paying jobs into the Clearwater Basin in a ten-year effort that will impr= ove the land, habitat and employment situation for all Idahoans and Idaho f= ish and wildlife. I salute the hard work of the Forest Service and members= of the Collaborative work group that have brought us to the point we are t= oday." "The selection of our proposal offers us a whole new way of doing forest re= storation and stewardship while providing increased employment to the local= communities," said CBC Co-Chair Dale Harris. "We should take a moment to = celebrate. And then it will time to roll up sleeves and get to work." "This proposal is a resounding success for the U.S. Forest Service, Clearw= ater Basin Collaborative, and most importantly for the landscape and our co= mmunities. Healthy forests are vital for people and nature, providing clea= n water and wildlife habitat, supporting livelihoods, and creating recreati= onal opportunities for the public," said Robyn Miller of The Nature Conserv= ancy, and a member of the CBC work group. According to the Forest Service, the Selway-Middle Fork proposal outlined i= n the CBC is a comprehensive restoration strategy that is designed to resto= re and maintain ecological conditions within the 1.4 million acre ecosystem= Proposed restoration activities may include actions to reduce the risk o= f severe fire and reduce firefighting costs; promote vegetation that is res= istant to insects, disease and wildfire; improve water quality; improve con= ditions for big-game habitat and native and anadromous fish; reduce non-nat= ive plant species and promote the growth of native species. The use of bio= mass, creating jobs, and enhancing recreation are also part of the proposal= --_000_EF22B21D8CEAA148B030C28A9708DB9E01814C447DSENATEEX05sen_--]