The Forest Service is hoping the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) will help speed its plan to log, thin and spray roughly a quarter-million acres at the Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota and Wyoming. The idea is to make the densely packed forest less hospitable to pests. "We are using every resource available to us to address the growing crisis in forest health," said Craig Bobzien, supervisor at Black Hills. But while almost nine years have passed since HFRA was signed into law by President George W. Bush, many lawmakers question whether it has succeeded in protecting forest health and nearby communities. Go to story #1

Republican bills claiming to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfires are really "Trojan horses" that could incentivize harmful logging and grazing on federal lands, a coalition of environmental groups said yesterday. One rancher, however, will tell lawmakers today that public lands are dangerously overstocked with fuels and brush and that federal agencies, saddled by excessive planning, appeals and litigation, need broader authority from Congress to fix the problem. Go to story #2