Bipartisan legislation seeks to accelerate forest management and restoration, improve wildfire resilience, and expand collaboration and innovation
The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership applauds Senate advancement of the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act. Led by Senator John Curtis (R-Utah), Senator John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Senator Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), and Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), the Fix Our Forests Act passed out of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee with bipartisan support. The bill was first introduced by Representative Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and Representative Scott Peters (D-Calif.) and passed the U.S. House of Representatives with a strong bipartisan vote earlier this year.
“The declining health of our National Forests and the fish and wildlife habitat that they provide is a concern for America’s hunters and anglers,” said Joel Webster, Chief Conservation Officer for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “TRCP applauds the leadership of Senate Agriculture Committee members for advancing the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act. We urge Congress to pass these important forest management provisions and to accompany them with adequate resources and capacity to carry out on-the-ground work.”
The bill provides a comprehensive approach to address forest health and the wildfire challenges on our nation’s forests by accelerating important planning and implementation of restoration projects, expanding collaborative tools, and improving coordination between local, state, federal, and Tribal partners. The legislation bolsters the use of prescribed fire, promotes replanting after wildfires or other extreme events, and supports ecosystem and habitat restoration across Western forests, as well as the priceless white oak forests of the Eastern U.S.
Importantly, the Fix Our Forests Act would help communities become more resilient to wildfire by establishing a Community Risk Reduction Program and makes improvements to existing grant programs while fostering cutting-edge research. The bill creates a Fire Intelligence Center to improve interagency coordination and adoption of new technologies. For the first time, this bill recognizes that projects to restore and improve floodplains and wetlands can demonstrably reduce wildfire risk to downstream communities, including the long-term impacts wildfires can have on valuable drinking water supplies for rural and urban populations.
“While the ongoing government shutdown highlights the challenges facing our public land agencies, today’s bipartisan action by the Senate Agriculture Committee shows that progress on forest health and wildfire resilience can and should continue,” added Webster. “The Fix Our Forests Act lays the groundwork to advance the pace and scale of forest management, and the TRCP will continue to work with Congress to secure the resources agencies need to put these tools to work.”
Learn more about TRCP’s commitment to public lands HERE.
Founded in 2002, the TRCP is the largest coalition of conservation organizations in the country, uniting and amplifying the voices of sportsmen and women by convening hunting and fishing groups, conservation organizations, and outdoor businesses to a common purpose.
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