Nick Smith

A recent study by Climate Central found wildfires in the Western United States are undermining progress in reducing air pollution from tailpipes and industrial sources. …Forest fires contain particulate matter that is linked to health problems such as asthma, heart disease and even premature birth — health effects significantly associated with poverty and income equality.  …America’s federally owned forests are overstocked, impacted by insect infestations and vulnerable to unnaturally severe wildfire. …With this vote the U.S. House has now passed comprehensive federal forest reforms for the fifth year in a row. Yet after countless committee hearings and years of deliberation, the U.S. Senate has yet to pass a wildfire funding solution or reforms that meaningfully increase the pace and scale of management activities on federal forest lands.