The House of Representatives has passed the Fix Our Forests Act, legislation aimed at sharpening forest management strategies to curb wildfires.
The bill, H.R. 471, put forth by Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Arkansas) and co-sponsored by Rep. Scott Peters (D-San Diego), passed by a vote of 279 to 141.
On the heels of Los Angeles’ devastating wildfires, the congressmen brought back the bill on Jan. 16, seven months after its introduction on the House floor.
In a speech before the vote, Peters attributed the recent wildfires to land mismanagement, including a failure to clear dead trees and dry vegetation.
“The wildfire crisis we’re seeing in California and all across the West is not just a product of inaction, but decades of wrongheaded land management that let our forests, wildlands and hills turn into tinderboxes,” Peters said. “We suppressed all natural fire, all the time, and let invasive, fire-prone vegetation grow unabated.”
The bill, according to Peters’ office, would simplify and expedite environmental reviews to reduce costs and planning times for critical forest management projects while maintaining rigorous environmental standards.
It also would create an interagency Fireshed Center to help states, local governments and communities, along with a new Community Wildfire Risk Reduction Program and Community Wildfire Defense Research Program.
Last year’s version, H.R.8790, also passed the House but stalled in the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
News editor Jennifer Vigil contributed to this report.
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