House Set to Consider the Fix Our Forests Act

This week, the House is set to consider legislation – the Fix Our Forests Act (FOFA) – that seeks to restore forest health, increase resiliency to catastrophic wildfires, and protect communities in the wildland-urban interface. The measure, which was approved by the House last year, was reintroduced last week by Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and Congressman Scott Peters (D-CA).

The measure aligns closely with the recommendations of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission and seeks to achieve its objectives by expediting environmental reviews, reducing frivolous lawsuits, and increasing the pace and scale of forest restoration projects. Additionally, the bill would provide federal land managers, including the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), with new tools to accelerate forestry projects.

Specifically, FOFA would use fireshed mapping to prioritize the treatment of forests at the highest risk of wildfire. In addition, and to increase the pace of treatments, the bill would allow agencies to conduct critical forest management work concurrently with producing an environmental analysis. It also would allow agencies to adopt categorical exclusions – or specific exemptions from full National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review – for certain forest management projects. To bolster rural economies, the bill strengthens tools like the Good Neighbor Authority, Stewardship Contracting, and Shared Stewardship.

In an effort to deter frivolous litigation, FOFA limits court injunctions against projects unless substantial environmental harm can be demonstrated. The legislation also would require litigants to sue within 120 days of project approval and to have participated in the public comment process. Furthermore, the bill promotes intergovernmental collaboration by establishing a new Fireshed Center – made up of representatives from different agencies – to inform suppression and management decisions.

The latest iteration of FOFA also incorporates amendments that were approved in the previous Congress. This includes NSDA-spearheaded language that would formally define special districts and clarify that they are, in fact, an eligible local government partner in the forest management policy space. Additionally, the Act would expand the Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) to include special districts, allowing them to collaborate with the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management on cross-jurisdictional restoration work.

Although the measure advanced through the House with bipartisan support last year, some Democrats continue to have concerns that the proposed reforms would weaken bedrock environmental laws.