76-13-701. Findings and policy. (1) The legislature finds that the sustainable management of public forests in Montana is vital to conserving the state's natural resources and their economic and ecological potential for the benefit of all Montanans.

(2) The legislature finds that public forests in Montana should be sustainably managed to maintain biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality, and potential to fulfill relevant ecological, economic, and social functions.

(3) The legislature finds that sustainable forest stewardship and management of Montana's public forests requires a balanced approach that ensures a stable timber supply, active restoration, healthy watersheds and fish and wildlife habitat, areas for natural processes, and allowances for multiple uses.

(4) The legislature finds that:

(a) there is overwhelming evidence that the management, protection, and conservation of watersheds in Montana is critical to the well-being of the state;

(b) the water supplies of some of the state's most populous cities and surrounding areas originate in federally managed watersheds that are at risk for catastrophic wildfire, the severity of which could be reduced by proper management;

(c) a catastrophic wildfire in any one of those municipal watersheds would result in ash and sediment inundating and degrading the water supply, leaving tens of thousands of residents without drinking water, creating a severe public safety situation, and decimating millions of dollars worth of water infrastructure;

(d) a burned-out watershed also affects the timing of snow melt and stream flow, which detrimentally affects irrigation and fisheries; and

(e) federal land managers are not giving due consideration to the constitutionally protected water rights of the state and its citizens, the exercise of which would be impaired by a catastrophic wildfire.

(5) The legislature declares that it is the policy of this state to promote the sustainable use of all public forests within the state through sound management and collaboration with local, state, and federal entities.

History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 409, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 403, L. 2013.