Gianforte Introduces Bipartisan Forest Management Reform Bill

Statement

Congressman Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.) today introduced major bipartisan forest management legislation with members of California's congressional delegation.

The Emergency Wildfire and Public Safety Act will help protect the West from catastrophic wildfires by implementing wildfire prevention projects, sustaining healthier forests, and providing important energy and retrofitting assistance to businesses and residences to protect from future risks of wildfire.

"As Montanans know too well, severe wildfires have devastating consequences, from unhealthy air quality to the destruction of wildlife habitat to serious threats to life and livelihoods throughout the West. Our bipartisan bill provides commonsense forest management reforms that reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires, protect public health and safety, and create good-paying timber jobs," Congressman Gianforte said. "I'll work with my Republican and Democratic colleagues to get this bill passed and signed into law, because Montanans want to enjoy our forests, not breathe them."

On Wednesday, U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca.) introduced companion legislation.

"I'm grateful for the support of Congressman Gianforte as we work together on this major bipartisan forest management reform bill," Daines said. "Our work will help support Montana jobs, promote better forest management and protect Montana communities from deadly wildfires."

Gianforte introduced the bill today with Congressmen Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.), Jim Costa (D-Calif.), Josh Harder (D-Calif.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), TJ Cox (D-Calif.), and Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.).

"Throughout the West, and especially in my district on the central coast of California, we regularly experience devastating wildfires that can result in the tragic loss of life and property, hundreds of millions of dollars in suppression costs, and prolonged power shutoffs. As the fire season becomes longer and more intense, we not only need to be prepared, but we also need to be proactive to protect our homes, towns, and communities," said Congressman Panetta. "Our bipartisan, bicameral legislation is needed now more than ever to help reduce wildfire risk in federal forests, improve best practices for addressing wildfire, and create more resilient communities and energy grids."

"In Northern California, we have experienced two of the most destructive fires in California history, the Camp and Carr Fires, and many people are still struggling to recover," said Congressman LaMalfa. "Proactively managing our forests is the best way to minimize the risk of wildfire in the West and protect our areas from further disaster. The Emergency Wildfire and Public Safety Act takes great steps to streamline forest management, like creating fuel breaks and three 75,000 acre wildfire risk reduction projects in the West, to make sure that our forests stay healthy and intact. I'm glad to spearhead this bill with Congressman Panetta in the House and Senators Daines and Feinstein in the Senate to refortify our forests and, in turn, increase public safety to the areas that are contending with wildfire season. Putting people to work in the forests right in our own back yard has many positive benefits."

"For years, California wildfires have ravaged our forests, destroyed communities and taken too many innocent lives. This bill will help us find new and innovative ways to reduce these deadly fires, provide modern infrastructure to protect communities, and improve the health of our forests by clearing the dead and dying trees that act as a catalyst to this devastation," said Congressman Costa.

"Now that every season is wildfire season it's time to take more proactive steps to protect people and their homes," said Congressman Harder. "Simple wildfire mitigation techniques will keep everyone safe - it's common sense."

"Climate change has only made wildfires in California more frequent and more severe. Destructive fires in the last few years have taken lives, homes, and businesses. We need to do more than be prepared, we need to be proactive. I'm glad to support this bipartisan, comprehensive approach to mitigate the risk of wildfires and protect our communities," said Congressman Carbajal.

"Some of the most destructive wildfires in California history have burned in the last four years. Wildfires, once a seasonal threat, are now quickly becoming an almost yearlong danger and our response must acknowledge this new reality," said Senator Feinstein on Wednesday. "This bill will help adapt forest management across California, Montana and the West to the long-term effects of climate. Creating a market for biomass will provide energy while reducing the fuel that helps fires spread quickly. Retrofitting homes with fire-resistant materials will make our communities more resilient. And helping critical facilities like hospitals become more energy-efficient will prepare them to cope with preventative power shutoffs. This bipartisan bill will help adapt at-risk forests and communities to our new reality when it comes to climate change and fighting wildfire and I'm proud to introduce it today."

Specifically, the Emergency Wildfire and Public Safety Act will:

Provide new authority for the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to work collaboratively with state partners in the West to implement wildfire prevention projects. Projects are restricted to areas most in need of restorative forest management.
Allow disaster mitigation and preparedness funding to be used to reduce the wildfire risk posed by utility lines and expedite permitting for the installation of wildfire detection equipment (such as sensors, cameras, and other relevant equipment) and expand the use of satellite data to assist wildfire response.
Create a program to incentivize the collection of woody biomass and help expand processing facilities to make biomass more economically viable.
Create a forest workforce development program to train a new generation of workers to help address wildfire and forest health.
Require the establishment of a fire center in the Western United States to train new firefighters and forestry professionals on the beneficial uses of prescribed fires, a far more cost-effective method of stopping fires than mechanical thinning or firefighting.
Lift the current export ban on unprocessed timber from federal lands in the west for trees that are dead or dying, or if there is no demand in the United States. California currently has nearly 150 million dead and dying trees on thousands of acres that are at risk of wildfire.
Expand the Energy Department's weatherization program to allow for the retrofit of homes to make them more resilient to wildfire through the use of fire-resistant building materials and other methods.
Establish a new grant program to assist critical facilities like hospitals and police stations become more energy efficient and better adapted to function during power shutoffs. The new program would also provide funding for the expanded use of distributed energy infrastructure, including microgrids.