House Passes Key Land Management Bills

Many in the Ag community applauded the House's recent passage of two land management bills; the ACRES Act and the Fix Our Forests Act. 

Supporters say the Fix Our Forests Act will:

• Simplify and expedite environmental reviews for forest management projects without reducing environmental standards.
• End needless delays to forest management activities by stopping senseless litigation.
• Promote collaboration between federal, state, tribal and local officials, and innovative technologies to better actively manage forests.

“This legislation delivers a much-needed revitalization to the way we approach forest health and prevent wildfires, an issue Central Washington is all too familiar with,” said Representative Dan Newhouse.  :It enhances our abilities to prevent catastrophic wildfires, loosens the grip of the federal government on forest managers, all while cutting costs for projects and upholding common-sense conservation standards.”

"I’ve heard my constituents' concerns about wildfires, especially after the recent tragedy in California, and this bill is a crucial step in preventing such disasters in the future," said eastern Washington's Michael Baumgartner. "As the son of a Washington State University Forestry professor, I know how vital it is to reduce fuel loads in our forests to protect against fire danger and create jobs in rural Eastern Washington.  Supporting our logging industry is essential, and I applaud this commonsense bill that will improve fire safety and forest health.  With 117 million acres of federal land at risk, this legislation gives agencies like the U.S. Forest Service the tools they need to better protect our forests and communities."

“As wildfires rage across my home state of California, the need for proactive forest management to reduce wildfire risk has never been more urgent,” said Congressional Western Caucus Chairman California's Doug LaMalfa.  “The Fix Our Forests Act will implement important measures to reduce bureaucracy and unnecessary lawsuits that are roadblocks to both good forestry projects and healthy forests.”

“Devastating wildfires throughout the West have shown that the federal government needs to step up their protection of western landscapes, and that starts by supporting farmers and ranchers on the ground whose hard work helps reduce wildfire risk,” says NCBA President and Wyoming rancher Mark Eisele.  

Meanwhile supporters of the ACRE Act said the legislation would protect ranchers, farmers, and livestock markets from burdensome federal overregulation.  The bill also includes language supporting an efficient permitting process for predator control at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Specifically, the ACRE Act:

These bills supporters say increase the West’s resiliency against wildfires and strengthen the accountability of federal agencies.

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