The West Virginia Legislature may be gearing up to take another shot at moving the state Division of Forestry. Lawmakers tried earlier this year to transfer the division from control of the Department of Commerce to the Department of Agriculture, but the move did not survive the 2017 legislative session. A bill passed by the Senate during the spring session died in the House of Delegates Finance Committee. The plan may be back.
On Tuesday, the Legislature’s Joint Committees on Government Operations and Government Organization met to discuss the transfer. Lawmakers are in town for interim legislative meetings. Crescent Gallagher, communications director for state Commissioner of Agriculture Kent Leonhardt, read a letter from the commissioner outlining why the forestry division should be transferred to the Department of Agriculture.
According to Leonhardt, the U.S. Department of Agriculture considers timber a crop. “Trees are a crop, just like any other plant, and should be properly regulated,” Gallagher said. Gallagher also said all timber leaving the state for export is currently inspected by either the USDA or state Department of Agriculture, and the state agriculture department already manages forest health by looking for pests and diseases.
Gallagher said Leonhardt believes it makes more sense and would be cheaper to taxpayers to put the Department of Agriculture in charge of the forestry division.
But state Forestry Director Barry Cook, in office just seven months, stood up for the forestry division’s current structure. Cook, who said he has more than 45 years of experience in the forest industry, said timber is a revenue-generating business for the state and should be overseen by the commerce department.
From The Exponent Telegram: https://www.theet.com/news/free/lawmakers-may-revive-plan-to-transfer-state-division-of-forestry/article_a171facd-3674-5c7b-b5ee-d54612d4b207.html