Kings County Times

The House of Representatives has passed the Fix Our Forests Act, a comprehensive bipartisan bill aimed at improving forest health and reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires. Congressman David Valadao was an original co-sponsor of this legislation.

"Over 117 million acres of our nation’s forests are dangerously overgrown and fire-prone, putting lives and communities at risk," said Congressman Valadao. "The Fix Our Forests Act takes critical steps to address the growing wildfire crisis by streamlining forest management, prioritizing prevention, and adopting new technologies to fight forest health threats. I’m proud to have joined my colleagues in passing this bill and want to thank House Natural Resources Committee Chairman, Bruce Westerman (AR-04), for his leadership on the issue."

The act aims to simplify environmental reviews to reduce costs and planning times while maintaining rigorous standards. It seeks to enhance community resilience by coordinating grant programs and advancing research. The legislation also intends to curtail litigation that delays forest management activities.

Additional provisions include granting agencies emergency tools for watershed restoration, protecting communities in wildland-urban interfaces, preventing forest conversion, utilizing science for high-risk areas treatment, incentivizing projects up to 10,000 acres for addressing various threats, and adopting innovative technologies for efficient wildfire suppression.