{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/padilla-sheehy-announce-bipartisan-bill-to-improve-forest-conservation-reduce-wildfire-risk/", "Padilla, Sheehy Announce Bipartisan Bill to Improve Forest Conservation, Reduce Wildfire Risk", "2025-09-24", "2025", "2025-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Alex Padilla", "P000145", "www.padilla.senate.gov", "padilla", "https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), co-chairs of the bipartisan Senate Wildfire Caucus, announced bipartisan legislation to help permanently conserve forestlands and mitigate increasing wildfire risks. Representatives John Garamendi (D-Calif.-08) and Ken Calvert (R-Calif.-41) are leading companion legislation in the House.\n\nThe Forest Legacy Management Flexibility Act would allow states to designate accredited nonprofit land trusts to manage conservation easements purchased with federal funding from the U.S. Forest Service\u2019s Forest Legacy Program (FLP). This additional flexibility would allow private landowners who are interested in conservation but do not want to sell an easement on their property to federal or state governments, as is currently required, to conserve more land.\n\nForest management and conservation are critical to minimizing wildfire risk by reducing hazardous fuels, building healthier and more resilient forests, and allowing for effective fire mitigation practices. By saving states money and time, this change would also expand the FLP\u2019s impact and conservation footprint.\n\n\u201cCalifornians know that the status quo isn\u2019t working when it comes to wildfire and forest management. Addressing the wildfire crisis requires collaboration between federal and state governments, private landowners, and nonprofit land trusts to responsibly manage our forest lands,\u201d said Senator Padilla. \u201cIt also means working across the aisle to build practical solutions to strengthen our forest resiliency. Our bipartisan bill would improve the conservation of private forests to mitigate wildfire risk while protecting important forest resources and habitat and expanding access to outdoor recreation.\u201d\n\n\u201cRestoring responsible, commonsense land management is key to protecting property, homes, and communities across the country against the threat of catastrophic wildfire. I\u2019m proud to be part of this bipartisan effort to streamline coordination between federal, state, and local governments and provide landowners the support they need to ensure proper forest management and reduce wildfire risk across the country,\u201d said Senator Sheehy.\n\n\u201cAs the former Deputy Secretary of the Interior to President Clinton, I know that our national conservation goals cannot be achieved through public land ownership alone. Federal and state governments can, and must, do a better job of working with private landowners who want to conserve their land, as my family did for our cattle ranch in 1998. I\u2019m honored to join Senator Padilla in introducing a bill that would unlock millions in federal funding to help states conserve working forestlands, create good-paying jobs, and support sustainable forest management practices that reduce wildfire risk,\u201d said Representative Garamendi.\n\n\u201cThe Forest Legacy Management Flexibility Act will provide new tools to help achieve our conservation, forest management, and economic goals. This bipartisan bill is an important step in strengthening partnerships between private landowners and public stakeholders interested in conserving forestlands,\u201d said Representative Calvert.\n\nProtection of private forests through FLP maintains a multitude of public benefits, including clean drinking water, habitats for fish and wildlife, timber, fuel, other forest products, and activities such as hunting, fishing, camping. Since its creation in 1990, FLP has conserved over 3 million acres of forest land and expanded across the country to 53 states and territories.\n\nThe bill is endorsed by organizations including Partnership of Rangeland Trusts, American Farmland Trust, Pacific Crest Trail Association, Pacific Forest Trust, California Rangeland Trust, North Coast Land Conservancy, American River Conservancy, Colorado Cattlemen\u2019s Agricultural Land Trust, Georgia-Alabama Land Trust, Northeast Wilderness Trust, Sequoia Riverlands Trust, Oregon Agricultural Trust, Placer Land Trust, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Natural Lands, Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, Forest Society of Maine, Lookout Mountain Conservancy, and Saratoga PLAN.\n\n\u201cThe Forest Legacy Program remains the largest program for federal funding to states for private forest conservation, but only government entities can hold the conservation easements acquired through the Program. This legislation would grant states the flexibility to have land trusts hold these easements, thereby increasing the potential for high priority lands to be conserved through this Program, saving the state money, and increasing the impact of the Program at no additional administrative cost,\u201d said CalFire Director/Fire Chief Joe Tyler.\n\n\u201cWe applaud Senators Padilla and Sheehy for introducing this bill. This bi-partisan legislation is a commonsense, no-cost enhancement to the Forest Legacy Program \u2014 the largest program for federal funding to states for private forest conservation. It will make it easier for private landowners and states to fulfill their goals of voluntarily conserving well-managed working forestlands for all their public benefits while maintaining private ownership. The option provided in this bill will help many states leverage private-public partnerships to get better outcomes while saving money and resources. This bill would unlock and leverage millions in federal funding to help states conserve priority working forestlands, create good-paying jobs, and support sustainable forest management practices that reduce wildfire risk,\u201d said Laurie Wayburn, Pacific Forest Trust President.\n\nIn the aftermath of the catastrophic Southern California fires, Senator Padilla has introduced more than a dozen bills to help prevent and respond to future wildfires, including the Senate version of the Fix Our Forests Act, bipartisan legislation to combat catastrophic wildfires, restore forest ecosystems, and make federal forest management more efficient and responsive. Padilla highlighted the Senate Fix Our Forests Act after joining federal and state emergency officials for a tour of the Pacific Palisades fire recovery area led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Padilla and Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) also introduced the FEMA Independence Act, bipartisan legislation to restore FEMA as an independent, cabinet-level agency and improve efficiency in federal emergency response efforts.\n\nA one-pager on the Forest Legacy Management Flexibility Act is available here.\n\nFull text of the bill is available here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:10:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/padilla-sheehy-announce-bipartisan-bill-to-improve-forest-conservation-reduce-wildfire-risk/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6480009071528912, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}