(Chico, CA) – Congressman Doug LaMalfa issued the following statement after the U.S. Forest Service announced the closure to the public of nine National Forests. Last year the Forest Service closed all of the forests in California to the public for the first time in history. This new forest closure means that the public will be excluded from public lands throughout Northern California.
Rep. LaMalfa said, “These lands are owned by the people for the use of the people. The idea that because the Forest Service has done a terrible job managing their lands and thinning the forest, they can exclude the public is offensive to anyone with basic common sense. They made a problem and now the public will pay the price. We all know there is a drought and catastrophic fires burning. Setting a policy that forbids the use of camp fires would be logical. However, locking up all of our federal lands is an abuse that should not be tolerated. This is the exact policy I warned the Forest Service against last year and it should not be repeated.”
Congressman Doug LaMalfa is a lifelong farmer representing California’s First Congressional District, including Butte, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou and Tehama Counties.