By: National Special Districts Coalition
The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee recently approved a comprehensive legislative package – the Fix Our Forests Act (H.R. 8790) – that seeks to restore forest health, increase resiliency to catastrophic wildfires, and protect communities in the wildland-urban interface. The measure, which has bipartisan support and aligns with many of the recommendations of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission, would accomplish these goals by expediting environmental reviews, limiting frivolous lawsuits, and increasing the pace and scale of forest restoration projects. It also would provide federal land managers, including the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM), with additional tools to expedite forestry projects.
Specifically, and among other things, H.R. 8790 would use fireshed mapping to prioritize the treatment of forests at the highest risk of wildfire. In addition, and to increase the pace of treatments, the bill would allow agencies to conduct critical forest management work concurrently with producing an environmental analysis. H.R. 8790 also would enable agencies to adopt categorical exclusions – or specific exemptions from full National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review – for certain forest management projects. To further support rural economies, the bill strengthens tools such as Good Neighbor Authority, Stewardship Contracting, and Shared Stewardship.
In an effort to deter frivolous litigation, the measure would prevent courts from stopping a project unless substantial environmental harm can be proven. Additionally, the legislation would require litigants to sue within 120 days and to have participated in the public comment process. Finally, the Fix Our Forests Act would promote intergovernmental collaboration by creating a new Fireshed Center made up of representatives from different agencies. The Center would help to inform suppression and management decisions.
The National Special Districts Coalition (NSDC), of which CSDA is a founding member, is actively engaging with bill sponsors to ensure that special districts are included in the definition of local governments. NSDC also continues to advocate for language that would expand the Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program (CWDG) to make water infrastructure for fire suppression an eligible expense.
The House and Senate are now on recess and will return September 9.
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#Natural Resources
#Climate Adaptation
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