Washington DC -  (WASHINGTON, DC) Today, Representative Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) heralded Committee passage of the fiscal year 2004 Interior Appropriations Act. The legislation which passed the House Interior Appropriations Committee contains a $500,000 provision requested solely by Emerson. The funds Emerson secured will be used to battle methamphetamine in the Mark Twain National Forest.

"Here in the Eighth District, we are lucky to have nearly all of the 1.5 million acres of the Mark Twain National Forest," said Emerson. "Unfortunately, with that honor comes the dubious distinction of having a forest that has been besieged like no other public land. In 2000, there were a record number of labs seized on public land and nearly 70 percent of those labs were in the Mark Twain National Forest. Sadly, our forest has had more meth labs seized than all other national forests in the United States combined. Our forests and public lands are a place of recreation and beauty, and these funds will give law enforcement the tools they need to crack down and rid our forests of this dangerous and deadly drug and the criminals who are cooking this poison."

As noted in USA Today, several forests have become dumping sites for illegal drug-makers who use heavily wooded forest areas to make drugs because the terrain makes it tough for law enforcement to locate labs. Agents have found drug labs in mobile homes, trailers, and abandoned cabins throughout the national forest systems. These hard to find locations make cleanup of the volatile chemicals used to make methamphetamine especially difficult and can pose a significant health threat to legitimate forest visitors and law enforcement personnel.

The Forest Service has noted that they will use funds to hire additional officers to eradicate methamphetamine from the Mark Twain National Forest and to fund cooperative efforts with local law enforcement.

The legislation is subject to passage by the House before going on to the Senate for consideration. The bill will eventually go to the desk of President Bush for final approval.