Date: 1989-11-14
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of H.R. 3482. as amended. the Hurricane Hugo Forestry Restoration Act. As a survivor of the many hurricanes that have struck the south Texas coastline. I can attest firsthand to the devastating effects of a hurricane on the people and the land. Hurricane Hugo left a path of destruction in its wake as it wound its way up through the Southeastern United States from its origins in the Caribbean. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. as well as North and South Carolina and parts of Virginia. bore the brunt of the storm and suffered the greatest damage. As the television cameras revealed after the hurricane had departed. cities like Charleston. SC. and the surrounding communities were. for a time. crippled in the wake of the storm. However. thanks to the emergency services provided by the Red Cross. and the Federal Emergency Management Agency EFEMA]. these areas are recovering. Less visible than the damage incurred by places like Charleston. was the damage sustained by rural areas. Of particular concern was the damage to forestlands and timber. which. in dollar terms. is a substantial portion of the damage done by Hugo. Timber and wood fiber production is the lifeblood of many of the areas in North and South Carolina and Virginia affected by the hurricane. Unfortunately. the damage done to forest lands and timber resources by Hugo will severely hamper the ability of these areas to recover from the effects of the storm. The force of Hugo in these areas. as well as in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. literally wrenched trees from the ground and scattered them across the landscape. Many of the trees left standing were broken off at midheight. rendering them useless for timber production. Much of the timber was blown down as if to resemble a childs game of pick up sticks. The destruction to woodlands that resulted has a number of short and long term consequences for the affected areas. The most urgent problem is that this downed timber. as it dries. will serve as a source of fuel and greatly increase the risk of wildfires this spring. If action is not taken in short order to alleviate this problem. the region could face devastating forest fires in the near term. In the long run. the damage done to these forests will affect the economies of the communities in the region. and limit their ability to rebound from the storm. With an abundance of wood fiber now. remaining markets for wood pulp are likely to plummet. making It difficult to justify the costs of harvesting what remains. However. failing to salvage the downed and damaged timber will further increase the risk of wildfire and interfere with efforts to reforest the area. H.R. 3482. as amended. will help to deal with both the shortterm problem of clearing downed and damaged timber and longterm need to reforest damaged areas to promote their reestablishment and development as potential sources of future commercial timber. Specifically. H.R. 3482. as amended. would establish a costshare assistance program to benefit private forest land owners of 1.000 acres or less who suffered timber stand losses due to Hurricane Hugo. Assistance would be available for: First. reforestation. second. site preparation. and third. other timber stand reestablishment practices prescribed in a forest management plan to be developed by the landowner. Each individual seeking such assistance must work with the State forester or equivalent State officials to develop an individual forest management plan. This plan. which is to be approved by that official. must include provisions for the reforestation of the stand affected by Hugo. and is to serve as the basis for agreements between the timber holder and the Secretary for costshare assistance. This process for completing forest management plans and developing agreements to obtain costshare assistance is thus Intended to be administered in a manner which is similar to the way in which the Forest Service currently administers its Forestry Incentives Program [FIP . H.R. 3482 permits the Secretary to consider any revenue from the sale of timber from private timber stands damaged by the. hurricane in determining the total cost of implementing eligible practices by the timber holder. In this way. the Secretary may adjust the amount provided for an approved costshare practice to take into consideration the landowners ability to pay. In addition. any individual would be prohibited from receiving more than $50.000 in Federal costshare assistance under the act. Finally. H.R. 3482 would authorize the transfer of $100 million from FEMA to USDA for implementation of this act. upon prior notification of the affectcd committees. These funds were previously allocated for such purposes under section 108(a) of the fiscal year 1990 Dire Emergency Supplemental To Meet the Needs of Natural Disaster of National Significance (Public Law 101130). Mr. Speaker. I want to compliment the gentleman from South Carolina . for introducing this legislation. I also want to thank the chairman of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Forests. Family Farms. and Energy. the Honorable HAROLD VOLKMER. for convening a hearing in Moncks Comer. SC. soon after the hurricane. to hear from those affected and to survey the damage first hand. His interest in this issue and the urgency which he placed on this matter upon his return from that field hearing. have helped to bring this bill to the House today. I must also thank the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations. Mr. WHrrTEN. for his assistance in helping to develop appropriate language to provide funding for this bill. Mr. Speaker. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3482. as amended.