releases: http://walden.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/greg-walden-supports-bipartisan-wildfire-prevention-forestry-reform-bill
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| http://walden.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/greg-walden-supports-bipartisan-wildfire-prevention-forestry-reform-bill | Greg Walden supports bipartisan wildfire prevention, forestry reform bill passed by U.S. House | 2015-07-09 | 2015 | 2015-07 | Republican | House | OR | Greg Walden | W000791 | walden.house.gov | legacy | Greg Walden supports bipartisan wildfire prevention, forestry reform bill passed by U.S. House Walden: I urge the Senate to quickly consider and pass this bill. Our forested communities have already waited too long. Now is the time to act. Click here or on the image below to watch Waldens speech in support of the bill WASHINGTON, D.C. As another busy fire season is already well underway in Oregon, U.S. Representative Greg Walden (R-Hood River) strongly supported a bipartisan bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives today to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire in national forests. The Resilient Federal Forests Act (H.R. 2647), which passed by a vote of 262-167, would bring much needed reforms to federal forest policy and help bring active management back to our forests. Speaking on the House floor in support of the bill, Walden explained the need for meaningful action on fixing broken federal forest policy. The Houses consideration of the bill is timely. As we speak brave firefighters are still trying to contain the Corner Creek fire, which has already burned nearly 29,000 acres of forest land near Dayville, Oregon. Unfortunately, this fire season is only getting started, Walden said. One look at the fires around the West makes clear the status quo isnt working for our forests, and it certainly doesnt work for our rural communities. The Resilient Federal Forests Act will help strengthen the health of our communities and our forests. I urge the Senate to quickly consider and pass this bill. Our forested communities have already waited too long. Now is the time to act. Walden further explained some of the benefits the bill would bring to Oregons rural forested communities and the people who live there. Among the many strong provisions in this bill to streamline planning, reduce frivolous lawsuits, and speed up the pace of forest management, several in particular are helpful for Oregons federal forests. For national forests in eastern Oregon, this legislation repeals the prohibition on harvesting trees over 21 inches in diameter a measure temporarily implemented in 1997 that still hasnt been removed nearly 20 years later. This flawed one-size-fits-all rule illustrates just how broken federal forest management has become. It greatly limits the flexibility forest managers have to address site specific needs of the forest on the ground and has only become a source of frequent appeals and litigation, Walden said. Walden also explained that the bill brings much needed reforms to O&C lands in southern and western Oregon. This bill also includes legislation I wrote working with my colleagues from Oregon, Representatives Peter DeFazio and Kurt Schrader pertaining to Oregons unique O&C Lands, cutting costs, and increasing timber harvest and revenue to local counties. The BLM is also directed to revise their flawed management plan proposals to consider the clear statutory mandate to manage these lands for sustainable timber production and revenue to the counties, Walden said. For information on the O&C provisions, please click here. The bill also helps solve the long-standing fire borrowing problem by allowing the Forest Service to request FEMA disaster funds for fire suppression without having to continually rob their internal fire prevention accounts. For a summary of the fire borrowing provisions, please click here. During the last session of Congress, the U.S. House twice passed bipartisan legislation coauthored by Walden to help reform federal forest policy. Unfortunately, the Senate failed to take meaningful action on forestry legislation. Passage of this bill continues Walden's mission to make forest policy work for Oregonians. He has been a leader in writing other bipartisan forestry plans, including the Healthy Forest Restoration Act, the Forest Emergency Research and Recovery Act, and the FLAME Act. ### | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |