Gianforte calls for lawsuit reform, more money for wildfires

DEER LODGE, Mont. – U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte says blocking frivolous lawsuits and boosting emergency spending on wildfires would help restore Montana’s forests to better health.

Gianforte made the comments while touring clearcuts in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest on Monday with U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman of Arkansas,.

The Missoulian reports that the two Republican congressmen are backing a proposed bill in Congress dealing with forest management.

The two representatives toured parts of the East Deer Lodge Landscape Restoration Project and Sun Mountain Lumber Co.’s Deer Lodge sawmill on Monday. The project includes about 2,500 acres of harvestable timber, as well as other sites where crews cleared out large stands of beetle-killed lodgepole pine.