U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, who recently introduced her first bill, the Small Business Innovation Act of 2013, paid a visit to Forest County Wednesday, Aug. 21. While in Crandon, the senator toured manufacturers Infinity Wood Floors and Hometown Trolley.

A topic of discussion during her visit was federal policy toward logging in national forests. Proponents of logging in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest (CNNF) say that increased logging is an important part of keeping the forest healthy and would have a positive economic impact in the region.

Sen. Baldwin, who is a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, said she had met with Forest Service officials in Rhinelander the previous day. She also toured the CNNF prior to her stop in Crandon. During her tour of the forest, she said, she saw the difference between forest land that’s well managed and forest land that isn’t.

When asked whether Congress could get anything done on this issue, Sen. Baldwin said, “I don’t see the issue of healthy national forests as a partisan issue. I think this is one of those areas where we can get past it.”