Republican and Democratic senators advanced legislation that would accelerate federal forest management projects by streamlining environmental reviews, which critics claim have slowed efforts to prevent the wildfires increasingly threatening California and other states in the West.
The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee on Tuesday voted 18-5 to pass the “Fix Our Forest Act” out of committee, sending it to the Senate floor. The bill has support from business groups but is opposed by several environmentalist groups, who argue that it would remove too many guardrails on logging.
Sens. John Curtis (R-UT), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), and Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced the “Fix Our Forests Act” in April to mitigate wildfire risk by streamlining environmental reviews for forest management projects and limiting legal challenges. The House passed its own version of the bill earlier this year.
“I commend the Committee’s action and look forward to the bill’s swift passage by the full Senate,” Curtis said on X.
The bill exempts or streamlines the National Environmental Policy Act process for federal forest management projects, a federal law requiring agencies to evaluate the environmental effects of proposed projects.
The legislation would expand NEPA’s categorical exclusions, which exempt certain actions from review. The bill increased the acreage of forest projects that can be exempt from environmental review from 3,000 to 10,000 for actions such as wildfire prevention, fuel breaks, and pest and disease management.
The bill would establish “Fireshed Management Areas,” which are high-risk wildfire areas, requiring the agriculture and interior secretaries to update them every five years. The legislation also shortens the time to challenge projects in court from six years to 150 days.
Some Democrats raised concerns about the time frame for the legal challenges. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) raised an amendment to the bill to slash the judicial review reform and legal challenge timeline. “While six years may indeed be too long, 150 days is too short, and could disenfranchise those communities who are most at risk for a wildfire,” he said. The amendment did not pass.
Groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have strongly supported the legislation, describing it as “crucial litigation reform.”
Some environmental groups have raised concerns about its NEPA reforms and conservation protections.
For instance, the Defenders of Wildlife said on Monday that it strongly opposed the bill, claiming it would “undermine critical bedrock conservation protections like the Endangered Species Act.” It also criticized the bill’s expansion of NEPA categorical exclusions and its shortened timeline for legal challenges to projects.
“Providing more authority to the administration by weakening our conservation laws will allow for unfettered logging by minimizing transparency, oversight and accountability,” Chris Westfall, senior government relations legislative counsel at Defenders of Wildlife, said in a statement.
The group added that the bill reverses the Ninth Circuit Court’s Cottonwood Fix decision, a legal precedent requiring reconsultation with wildlife agencies on forest or land management plans when a new endangered species or critical habitat is listed.
The Sierra Club, another major environmentalist group, also opposed the resolution, stating the bill “claims to address wildfires, but actually enables timber companies to pursue vastly increased logging activities in national forests.”
The legislation is a response to increasingly costly wildfires in Western states. For example, in January, the Palisades fire in Los Angeles became the most destructive in the city’s history.
BURGUM REJECTS COMPROMISE ON WIND ENERGY OR PERMITTING REFORM
The Western Governors’ Association sent a letter to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry on Monday to express its strong support for advancing the bill.
“As governors of Western states, we experience firsthand the increasing forest health and wildfire crises that directly impact our communities and citizens. These challenges are significant and urgent and demand action to strengthen the opportunities and partnerships at our disposal,” the letter reads.
