By Rep. Derek Kilmer

As you approach the Wishkah River Bridge you’ll see that great sign declaring “Gateway to the Olympics.” That is not just a sign for tourists looking to explore our forests. For generations of families in Grays Harbor, that gateway has meant livelihood. Sons and daughters listened in wonder to parents and grandparents tell stories about a life spent in timber. They dreamed about making a good wage and a full life in the woods and on the water. We have a responsibility to keep that dream alive.

The forest — and the industries tied to it — will continue to be an important leg of our economic stool. But some of our neighbors are still looking to land a job that will help them get ahead. There are genuine concerns about continuing to keep storefronts in places like Hoquiam and Aberdeen alive with new ventures.

Folks don’t want to see our top exports be our kids. We are proud of our region. We know it’s a great place to raise a family and that we have plenty of opportunities to grow our economy. The federal government can and should be a partner in efforts to help areas like the Olympic Peninsula succeed.

As someone who came to Congress after working professionally in economic development, jobs have always been my No. 1 concern. All too often I don’t think Congress has paid attention to our nation’s rural areas. The federal government can help communities succeed economically.

It’s why I hold “Kilmer at Your Company” visits in places like Dennis Company, Pacific Veneer, Girard Wood Products and Ocean Gold. I visit local firms to hear about what’s working, what isn’t, and how I can be a partner.

Whether I’m speaking at a local Rotary or a chamber, I always say we aren’t going to solve our economic challenge with a silver bullet, but with something more like silver buckshot.

And in this region, we are already making some progress. For example, we created the Olympic Peninsula Forest Collaborative to bring all sides to the table to figure out how we can make progress in restoring our forests while increasing harvest levels. We officially launched the Collaborative in 2015 and are getting results.

In fact, former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack came to our neck of the woods and sat down to hear more about the approach we took. He walked away impressed with how this could help jump start job-creating projects. By the end of this year, we will have multiple projects in the works that would not have happened without the Collaborative’s leadership.

Unfortunately, the president’s recent budget proposal is a step backward. It does not support efforts like this. In fact, it completely eliminates the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration run by the Forest Service. This program provides $40 million every year that goes toward increasing the size and scope of ventures like the one we started here.

It doesn’t make sense to me that we would throw away a job-creating tool. But the president’s budget does that while putting a hammer on the rest of the Forest Service. Initiatives like the Legacy Roads and Trails program — that has improved almost 18,000 miles of roads for recreational access, safety and flood resiliency — would also be eliminated.,

Additionally, the ability to prepare timber sales and deal with road maintenance is currently hamstrung by the fact that more and more of the Forest Service budget is going to fighting forest fires. Congress should pass a law to treat large forest fires like other natural disasters, funding them through the Federal Emergency Management Agency rather than cannibalizing the rest of the Forest Service budget.

It’s imperative we not go backward. In fact, the president’s new Agriculture Secretary actually agreed on the importance of initiatives like these. So as a member of the Appropriations Committee I’m working to make sure we produce a budget that actually works for rural communities.

That storied gateway represents opportunity in our region. Let’s make sure the next generation has the chance to build careers and lives where they were born and raised. Let’s encourage our federal government to work for jobs in all our communities, and produce a budget that shares our values on the Olympic Peninsula.