Washington, DC - Today, Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) introduced the National Reforestation Act which would require the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to replant heavily burned areas within five years of a forest fire.

While the National Forest Management Act mandates replanting after certain modes of timber harvest, there is no federal law requiring replanting in burned areas. Likewise, the Oregon Forest Practices Act, which governs state and private lands in Oregon, requires replanting within two years of harvest.

"Catastrophic wildfires not only burn up the seeds of the next forest, but often sterilize the soil and cause massive erosion into rivers, lakes and streams," Smith said. "Each year, fires consume old growth and precious habitat at an alarming rate. Replanting severely burned areas is simple common sense. Otherwise, weeds and shrubs can take over and dominate the landscape for decades or even centuries."

The National Reforestation Act would triple the funding available to the Forest Service for reforestation work to $90 million. Currently, $30 million of tariff receipts on foreign wood products is deposited each year into the Reforestation Trust Fund, which is the primary funding source for tree planting. However, the backlog on National Forests is increasing and will soon be nearly one million acres - representing over five years of work at current levels.

"Fewer and fewer acres are being replanted because federal agencies are paralyzed by lawsuits," Smith said. "The Biscuit Fire rehabilitation proposes to replant a mere six percent of the burn area, and it's still being litigated. Reforestation of incinerated forests should be a matter of federal law, not of debate in federal courts. Without stronger congressional direction, deforestation will not be just a Third World problem, but one in our own back yard."