How to Manage the Forest to Make It Easier to Manage the Fires

By Hannah Downey, Policy director, Property and Environment Research Center
Newsweek
January 27, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Hannah Downey

…This week, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act to help overcome the legal and political hurdles that stand in the way of addressing the wildfire crisis. …the declining health of our nation’s forests is the primary cause [of the wildfire crisis]. …Red tape and unnecessary litigation hold up forest restoration projects for years, consuming time and money that should instead be spent on the ground. Research from the Property and Environment Research Center—found that federal permitting and litigation can delay needed projects from five to nine years. …Co-sponsored by Rep. Scott Peters and Rep. Bruce Westerman, the legislation received broad bipartisan support. The Senate and President Donald Trump should move quickly to pass the legislation and empower agencies and partners with needed forest restoration tools.

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