Bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act Passes Senate Ag Committee

U.S. SENATE – Today the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry voted to advance Senator Sheehy’s bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act. The legislation was introduced in April by Senators Tim Sheehy, John Curtis (R-Utah), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.). Senator Sheehy issued this statement following an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote in Committee:

“Better stewardship of our forests is not a partisan issue; it’s an imperative to securing a stronger economy, healthier forests, and safer communities. I’m proud to see the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act move forward in the legislative process, and I’ll continue fighting alongside my colleagues to enact commonsense reforms that ensure proper forest management, unleash the resource economy, and protect American communities from the threat of wildfire.”

 Background:

 The Fix Our Forests Act would:

• Establish new and updated programs to reduce wildfire risks across large, high-priority “firesheds,” with an emphasis on cross-jurisdictional collaboration.
• Streamline and expand tools for forest health projects (e.g., stewardship contracting, Good Neighbor Agreements) and provide faster processes for certain hazardous fuels treatments.
• Create a single interagency program to help communities in the wildland-urban interface build and retrofit with wildfire-resistant measures, while simplifying and consolidating grant applications.
• Expand research and demonstration initiatives—including biochar projects and the Community Wildfire Defense Research Program—to test and deploy cutting-edge wildfire prevention, detection, and mitigation technologies.
• Strengthen coordination efforts across agencies through a new Wildfire Intelligence Center, which would streamline federal response and create a whole-of-government approach to combating wildfires.
• Improve reforestation, seedling supply, and nursery capacity; establish new programs for white oak restoration; and clarify policies to reduce wildfire-related litigation and expedite forest health treatments.

Since taking office, Senator Sheehy has introduced several bipartisan bills aimed at improving wildfire prevention and response. One of these bills, the Aerial Firefighting Enhancement Act, has already been signed into law by President Trump. Sheehy’s Fire Ready Nation Act, introduced alongside Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), passed the Senate unanimously in September.