Wildfire Risk Mitigation Bill Hits the House

Congressman Paul Gosar (Ariz.) was joined by 27 of his colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives this week to introduce the bipartisan Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention Act of 2012 (H.R. 5744). According to Public Lands Council President John Falen, H.R. 5744 will allow forest lands to be responsibly managed to prevent catastrophic wildfires that put human and animal health and safety at risk while costing economies severely.

"Forest lands must be responsibly managed but that is not happening today because environmental extremists have abused regulations currently on the books to tie the hands of land management agencies. The Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention Act will restore some common sense to forest management, improve public safety and restore the environment," Falen said.

H.R. 5744 will allow the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to streamline projects to reduce hazardous fuel loads, thus reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire and protecting endangered species on lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Authorized projects include timber thinning and livestock grazing.