Washington: Gifford Pinchot Task Force on Obama forests

EXPAND RESTORATION-RELATED JOBS: As a forest-health advocate, Platt
hopes that Obama will help fund eco-restoration jobs as part of his
$700 billion plan to stimulate the economy. “Obama has focused on
clean-energy jobs. But there’s an incredible opportunity and need for
restoration jobs on public lands in the West,” she says.

“For  instance, there’s an $8 billion backlog for road maintenance in
national forests. We need to remove roads that aren’t needed anymore
and upgrade or maintain roads that are needed. The backlog causes
problems for fish and wildlife — erosion of sediment into streams and
fragmentation of habitat — and for people trying to gain access to
public lands. We also need to do more to control weeds, replant areas,
and restore fish habitat by creating pools and hiding cover. These are
engineering jobs and (all kinds of laborer) jobs. It would be a boon
to local economies and an investment in keeping our public lands in
good shape.–Emily Platt, Director, Gifford Pinchot Task Force
Portland, Ore. http://www.hcn.org/issues/40.23/the-sick-and-tired-west?utm_source=wcn1&utm_medium=email

Posted via email from Deane’s posterous