The majority of individuals that visit our national forests participate in quiet, nature based forms of recreation such as hiking, camping, bird watching, and fishing. These same quiet recreationists provide a significant source of revenue for local businesses when they spend money during their visit. It’s important that land managers consider the economic consequences of decisions that they make — such as approving a timber harvest or constructing a dirt bike trail — may result in the displacement of quiet recreationists.

Click below to read the Forest Service document.

The Forest Jobs and Recreation Act will permanently protect nearly a million acres of spectacular backcountry throughout western Montana, including nearly 700,000 acres as wilderness. This includes some 25 spectacular places conservationists have fought hard to preserve for decades. In addtion, the bill:

To compensate state and local governments for the tax-exempt status of federal lands, each year the federal government pays millions of dollars to 42 states and 714 counties that contain national forests. Most of the payments are made through two different but interrelated programs – 25% revenue sharing and payments in lieu of taxes (PILT). These fact sheets explore the programs.