01/25/2025
The devastating wildfires in California serve as a reminder that we must change course and implement sound forest management practices to help prevent future catastrophic wildfires. This week, I was proud of the strong bipartisan support for the Fix Our Forests Act, a bill I introduced that passed the House by a vote of 279-141.
As a forester, advocating for better forest management is a passion. This bill is an excellent first step at allowing better forest management practices on the ground not only in Arkansas, but across the hundreds of millions of federal forests across the United States, and with Senate passage, it can be a huge win for those living in communities who rely on the forest products industry to provide for their families and millions of others who constantly face the dangers of wildfires. This commonsense, bipartisan bill will restore forest health, increase resiliency, and help protect communities located in the wildland urban interfaces. Americans have been blessed with amazing forests, and it is our duty to be good stewards of our resources so we can pass our blessings to the next generations. The Fix Our Forests Act can be the catalyst of better forest management which will result in the prevention and mitigation of uncontrollable wildfires.
Through misguided policies that have resulted in a hands-off approach to forest thinning combined with suppressing low-intensity fire for over a century, we are loving our trees to death. America’s forests are in a crisis. Healthy forests have a balance of vegetation that can be supported by the available light, water, and nutrients on a given site. America’s federal forests have become dangerously overstocked with vegetation. The lack of light, water, and nutrients will kill some trees while the remaining living, stressed trees, and even healthy trees are often attacked by insects and disease. The result is dead material that turns into fuel. When a catastrophic fire happens, nature essentially clear cuts the forests… killing, and oftentimes, removing all vegetation. We see the dramatic results of entire neighborhoods being leveled and the loss of human lives, but there are also devastating impacts on air quality, water quality, wildlife habitat, and outdoor recreation opportunities that will take decades to restore.
Traveling across our great nation and seeing our beautiful forests firsthand serves as further inspiration to conserve our abundant natural resources. Now is the time for the whole Congress and the White House to act to protect the priceless resource that is our nation’s forests by making the Fix Our Forests Act law.
