In President George W. Bush’s Fiscal Year 2007 budget, unveiled last month, the Bush administration proposed selling some 300,000 acres of National Forest land in order to offset the cost of the Secure Rural Schools Act of 2000. The land being sold consists of what the Bush administration is “isolated parcels” that are located on the boundaries of National Forests or in areas that are difficult to access and therefore are costly to manage. The proposal has drawn widespread opposition from environmentalists, conservationists, and legislators across the United States, especially in areas where the sale of large amounts of land has been proposed.
Of the 300,000 acres that have been proposed for sale, 5,580 are in Michigan, with 3,620 acres in Hiawatha National Forest (map) and 2,260 acres in Ottawa National Forest (map), both of which are located in the state’s Upper Peninsula. While the plan has been touted as a way to guarantee funding for rural school districts located in remote areas like the Upper Peninsula, advocacy organizations working on rural education are questioning the efficacy of the plan, citing concerns that the sale of the land will create a one-time influx of cash to fund the federal government’s commitment to rural school districts under the Secure Rural Schools Act. That law, passed by the federal legislature in 2000, has paid some $1.6 billion to rural counties and school districts as part of a 1908 statue requiring the federal government to give 25% of revenue from federal sales of timber and 50% of revenue from mineral sales to states in order to help the states maintain schools and roads. While the Secure Rural Schools Act was passed as a way of stabilizing these payments, the one-time influx of cash and the extension of the Act as proposed in Bush’s FY 2007 budget will do little to stabilize funding over the long-term. According to the Forest Service, the sale would simply provide a “short term safety net” that will be “adjusted downward overtime and eventually phased out.” Moreover, according to a recent analysis of the plan, a disproportionate amount of land will be sold in the South and Midwest while the money earned will go into a general fund, the majority of which goes to Western states. This year, Michigan received only $781,947 from the Secure Rural Schools Act.
The proposal is part of a series of Bush administration changes in forest policy that promote private ownership of forest land and the transfer of publicly owned land and resources into the hands of private corporations. Over the past six years, these changes have included proposals to sell public lands, eliminate road-less areas, and weaken Forest Service planning processes. Unlike other forest policy changes, the sale of National Forest land must approved by Congress and the President and take place under the Forest Service’s disposal guidelines.
The Forest Service is allowing public comment on the sale until March 30, 2006. Comments can be emailed to SRS_Land_Sales@fs.fed.us or faxed to 202-205-1604. The Wilderness Society also has an online action form that can be used to send a letter to your Congressional representatives.
