2018 Ferguson Fire in Mariposa County 
Photo credit: USDA

May 4, 2020 - The Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) continues to strongly support S.1643, the Forest Management for Rural Stability Act (FMRSA), authored by Senators Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), Larry Crapo (R-Idaho), Jeff Alan Merkley (D-Oregon), James Risch (R-Idaho), and Dianne Feinstein (D-California). FMRSA would create an endowment fund to ensure forested counties receive permanent, long-term payments not subject to the annual appropriations process. The endowment fund would begin with an initial investment from Congress and comprise of annual deposits from payments of the forest revenue sharing program. The interest from this endowment would then subsequently fund the SRS program.

RCRC continues to advocate for the passage of the FMRSA and its incorporation into any relief package that Congress considers in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Forested counties need, especially in these trying times, the stability and predictability of monies for county public works projects (i.e. county roads). In the effort to reach this goal, a number of RCRC-member supervisors have been writing local op-eds to highlight the need to have SRS monies, along with federal Payments In Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program monies, be made permanent (see previous BW from Wednesday).

RCRC’s support letters to members of Congress highlighting the need for permanent SRS funding (and PILT) can be accessed here and here.
Source: Rural County Representatives of California