Smokejumper Base and Newhouse
I'm Bob Larson. U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse has been busy lately, last week introducing several measures the House Appropriations Committee will include as they work on the Fiscal Year 2018 bill.
Considering the Summer's we've experienced the past few years, one of those measures would seem appropriate, involving a Smoke Jumper's Base in the North Cascades ...
DAN NEWHOUSE ... "We did get some language into the Interior Appropriations bill expressing the importance of the Smoke Jumper Base in Winthrop and our desire to keep it there."
Newhouse says there has been some talk about closing the Winthrop base and others in the area, but his language would express the importance of having them left in place ...
DAN NEWHOUSE ... "That decision is being made right now by the Forest Service. They've been looking and doing their due-diligence on where, not only economically, but strategically that smoke jumper base should be located. So, this is a statement from Congress that the current location should remain the future location."
Other Newhouse items include encouraging Fish and Wildlife to delist the Gray Wolf and prohibiting the agency from using further funds to continue treating the wolf as endangered. He also reiterated his belief the EPA should be prohibited from funding lobbying efforts of anti-agriculture groups like "What's Upstream."
He's also calling for continued funding for the Wolf-Livestock Loss Demonstration Program and increased transparency on how grazing is monitored.
