Today, the House of Representatives passed the Fix Our Forests Act. While proponents of the bill claim it will address forest management and wildfires, it would primarily undermine bedrock environmental laws like the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA) while harming the ability to protect communities from wildfire. After the vote, Earthjustice Senior Legislative Representative Blaine Miller-McFeeley issued the following statement:

“We certainly want to protect communities from wildfires, but this bill is not the answer. Instead of providing impacted communities with the proven tools and techniques they need to keep themselves safe, this bill is nothing more than a trojan horse for gutting bedrock environmental laws dressed up under the more palatable guise of wildfire management. True forest management requires engaging communities and utilizing proven best practices, not opening our lands to more reckless logging operations. We urge the Senate to reject this bill.”