Date: 9/24/24
Contact: Karly Matthews / karly@accaction.eco
ACC Action Celebrates the House Passage of Fix Our Forests
WASHINGTON – The American Conservation Coalition Action (ACC Action) is encouraged by the passage of the Fix Our Forests Act in the House of Representatives today.
The bill, proposed by House Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and Representative Scott Peters (D-CA), would simplify the approval process for forest management projects, encourage collaboration across all levels of government, and prioritize treatments for forests at the highest risk for wildfire.
For too long, we’ve neglected our responsibility to properly manage our forests, resulting in catastrophic wildfires and loss of property and ecosystems. In 2020, emissions from California’s wildfires erased the state’s emissions reductions in the energy sector going back 18 years.
ACC Action’s Andrew Mills said: “Wildfires are increasing in size and severity due to decades of poor forest management. This bipartisan bill is an important step toward active forest management in the United States that will help mitigate climate change and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. ACC Action is grateful to Chairman Westerman and Representative Peters for spearheading this critical effort to fix our forests.”
Forest management cannot wait. We look forward to working with our allies in the Senate to get a forest management package across the finish line.
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