Virginia Cramer, virginia.cramer@sierraclub.org, 804-519-8449
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the House Agriculture Committee passed Rep. Westerman’s “Resilient Federal Forests Act,” a piece of legislation that would make clear-cutting forests significantly easier and undermine environmental review. Movement on the legislation follows a directive from Interior Secretary Zinke to land managers across the country to adopt “aggressive and scientific fuels reduction management” and “pre-suppression techniques” to slow Western fires.
In response Kirin Kennedy, associate legislative director for lands and wildlife at Sierra Club issued the following statement.
“We cannot log our way out of this problem. Decades of aggressive fuel reduction and misguided fire suppression are one of the reasons large swaths of the country are facing increased fire risks today. Continuing down this path will not lead to healthy forests or a fix for fire borrowing.
“We must shift our country’s approach to wildfire to focus on long-term planning and an end to fire borrowing, as proposed by the Wildfire Defense Funding Act. Taking a proactive approach to help reduce the risk of future megafires will benefit our communities and our public lands.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.