RE: Birthplace of Rivers designation as a National Monument

CONGRESS of the UNITED STATES
HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES

A.B. Brooks Memorial Forestry Symposium
West Virginia Forestry Association
P. O. Box. 718
Ripley, WV 25271

Dear Friends,

Thank you for being here to celebrate West Virginia's agriculture and forestry industries and their rich 
history in our state. Unfortunately, I could not be with you today, as Congress is in session.

In my four years in Congress, I have had the opportunity to work with a number of you, and I wanted to 
take this time to share with you some of what is happening in Washington. With that being said, I'd also 
like to take a moment to thank a couple people in particular for the assistance they have provided—Mr. 
Randy Dye and Mr. Roger Sherman, Thank you, gentleman.

In West Virginia, forestry and its related industries employ more than 30,000 people, and it is the only natural 
resource industry that is found in all 55 counties. The forestry industry contributes roughly $3.2 billion 
annually to West Virginia's economy and works side by side with West Virginia's tourism industry. 
With its 11.9 million acres of forested land in our state, wood and wood products touch nearly every 
person's life throughout West Virginia. However, there are still challenges.

One issue of concern to many of you is the proposed Birth Place of Rivers National Monument. 
Particularly the question of how it would change management of the National Forest in that specific area.

At the December 10 meeting of the WV Tree Farm Committee, two regional meetings were set for 2015, subject to site availability:

March 11 - Morgantown, Westvaco Center

March 25 - Summersville, WorkForce West Virginia

March 11, 2015 - Mountaineer Food Bank, Gassaway, WV

April 1, 2015 - Rupert Community Center, Rupert, WV

April 16, 2015 - WVU-P Staunton Annex Building, Parkersburg, WV

As the 114th Congress begins, we have new Chairs on the U.S. House Ways and Means and the U.S. Senate Finance committees. The ranking members are the same, although Sen. Wyden (D-OR) was chairman in the last Congress. While actual movement on tax reform remains unclear, there is considerable discussion about it in both chambers. We believe that an early letter to the new leaders reiterating our positions on the timber tax provisions was in order. A similar letter, as that below, was also sent to the chair and ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee.

February 2, 2015

The Honorable Orrin Hatch
Chairman
Senate Finance Committee
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Ron Wyden
Ranking Member
Senate Finance Committee
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
United States Senate


Dear Chairman Hatch and Ranking Member Wyden:

As representatives of a broad and diverse group of forest landowners, forest products manufacturers and conservation and recreation partners, we write to express our best wishes as you develop tax policy and legislation in the 114th Congress.

As the House Ways and Means Committee considers comprehensive tax reform and fundamental changes to the tax code, we write to encourage the committee to retain the current tax treatment for timber, which works for trees, forestland owners—including the 22 million family forest owners across the country—wood products and paper manufacturing, fish and wildlife, and outdoor recreation. The timber provisions in the code benefit the economy by creating jobs, biomass energy, equity and financial returns for private landowners and investors, and provide public benefits from privately owned working forests, by helping to address the significant threat of conversion of private working forests.