In an overwhelming bipartisan vote, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry introduced a bill to address the growing threat of wildfires. There is now widespread agreement that the poor health of our forests threatens communities, public health and emissions targets.
But, as in bipartisan, bicameral Fix Our Forest Act Proves, we don’t have to just accept this as our new normal.
Recent fire seasons have been devastating – burning millions destroy acres thousands of houses and branches life is in dangerThe growing threat of wildfires is also threatening climate goals, as wildfires are increasingly becoming a source of emissions.
For example, 2020 produced a wildfire season in California twice That effectively wiped out 16 years of progress the state had reduced emissions between 2003 and 2019. Similarly, Canada’s 2023 wildfires released more carbon In just a few months, Russia or Japan emit more emissions from fossil fuel use than they emit in an entire year.
While climate change plays a role in the increase in size, severity and frequency of wildfires, the main driver is decades of poor forest management, which has left forests dense, overgrown and unhealthy. Under these circumstances, our forests become tinderboxes, ready to burn at any time. Restoring them to a healthy condition is vital to the protection of both our communities and our environment.
Unfortunately, many important projects needed to restore our forests are stalled due to lengthy review processes and legal challenges, and are unable to get off the ground before the next devastating wildfire.
For example, it is not unusual for the Forest Service to propose and undertake a project National Environmental Policy Act process, only for the area to burn with uncontrolled wildfire before environmental reviews could be completed. This is not surprising given the fact that it takes an average about five years Just to start a prescribed fire project, and face forest management projects more litigation under the Act than any other project type.
Still, not all news is bad – in at least one case, we may have learned a valuable lesson. ThroughWater Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation ActEnacted in 2016, Congress established an explicit exclusion for forest thinning projects of up to 10,000 acres within the Lake Tahoe Basin.
This policy allowed the Forest Service to quickly implement critical forest treatments. When the Caldor Fire erupted in 2021 and ultimately burned more than 220,000 acres, these treatments played a rolepivotal roleProtecting South Lake Tahoe, bringing the fire to the ground and enabling fire officials to control it.
Now, through the Fix Our Forests Act, Congress is looking to extend this model to the nation’s most at-risk forests, increasing the size of forest health projects eligible for categorical exclusions from 3,000 acres to 10,000 acres. The proposal is based on successes such as those in the Lake Tahoe Basin, and even former Forest Service chief Randy Moore has expressedHelpFor efforts to accelerate important forest management projects.
In addition to streamlining the review process for forest management projects in high-risk areas, the bill establishes a Fireshed Center to improve coordination among federal, state, tribal, and local partners. It also supports community wildfire initiatives, including home hardening and local resilience planning, while investing in replanting and reforestation capabilities to restore healthy forests after wildfire.
In January, after the Los Angeles wildfires became the costliest in history, the HousepassFix Our Forests Act with significant bipartisan support. Now, as the year comes to an end, the Senate has an opportunity to advance this bill and deliver real solutions for communities across the country.
Wildfires have long been a part of life in America, especially in the West, but we do not have to easily accept their growing threat. Congress must pass the Fix Our Forests Act before the end of the year to give communities and agencies the tools they need to meet this challenge. We cannot wait for another disaster to inspire us to act.
Sara Rosa is the Policy Director at the American Conservation Coalition in Action. She is a California native who grew up in Silicon Valley and now lives in Sacramento.
