Se Colorado News

U.S. Congresswoman Lauren Boebert announced that four of her amendments were included in the "Fix Our Forests Act," which passed the House of Representatives with a bipartisan vote of 268-151.

“America needs to do more to actively manage our forests and prevent catastrophic wildfires that are devastating our communities. Federal agencies have to stop spending billions of dollars on the backend putting out fires and shift to a comprehensive, proactive approach. The Fix Our Forests Act and my four amendments do exactly that and are the type of solutions needed in the West and Colorado. I thank House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman for his support on all four of my amendments, and I urge the Senate to take up this critical legislation,” said Congresswoman Boebert.

The Fix Our Forests Act aims to promote active forest management and enhance community resilience against wildfires by expediting environmental analyses, reducing frivolous lawsuits, and increasing forest restoration projects' pace and scale.

The bill's provisions include simplifying environmental reviews for forest management projects, promoting collaboration among federal, state, tribal, and local entities, deterring litigation that delays essential projects, prioritizing treatments in high-risk wildfire areas, adopting advanced science for federal land managers, improving powerline safety through active management, and strengthening tools like Good Neighbor Authority and Stewardship Contracting.

Congresswoman Boebert’s included amendments focus on various aspects of forest management:

Boebert Amendment #12 clarifies existing authorities may be utilized to prevent wildfires in Fire Regimes IV and V. This amendment expands the acres of at-risk forests eligible for streamlined management authorities under current law's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements.

Boebert Amendment #13 ensures grazing is one of the hazardous fuel reduction activities authorized by the bill. Grazing animals help maintain healthy ecosystems by controlling vegetative species balance, reducing fire fuels from non-native plant biomass accumulation, and improving soil health.

Boebert Amendment #14 requires regional foresters to submit a plan through the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program for treating trees killed or infested by bark beetles in Western states. The bark beetle epidemic has significantly damaged forests across tens of millions of acres along the West Coast and Rocky Mountains.

Boebert Amendment #15 mandates regional foresters submit a plan for selling Christmas trees and firewood on federal lands. The program allows American families to purchase permits from the forest service for cutting Christmas trees or harvesting firewood while helping thin overgrown forests.

For further information on the Fix Our Forests Act or Congresswoman Boebert’s newsletter updates, additional details can be found through provided resources.