Thompson's Committee Investigates Cost of Wildfires

Press Release

Congressman Glenn "GT' Thompson (PA-05), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry, on Thursday led a House Agriculture hearing to review the 2015 fire season and long-term trends in forestry across the nation. Appearing before the panel was U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell, followed by several expert witnesses from the private sector.

"Since the 1990s, the average number of national forest acres burned every year has doubled, reaching nine million acres this year alone. It is no coincidence that during the same time period, the timber harvested from federal lands has gone from more than 10 billion board feet to less than two billion board feet per year," Thompson said.

"The loss of forested lands, combined with the high cost of fighting wildfires upon human life and capital, will continue to increase unless we develop comprehensive solutions on how to best manage forests. In order to reverse the growing trend of devastating fires and unhealthy forests, the Forest Service needs to harvest more timber, better manage these assets and utilize all the tools Congress has given them," Thompson continued.

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"Adequate timber harvests are necessary to healthy national forests, including the Allegheny National Forest," Thompson added. "In addition to harvesting timber, mechanical thinning and prescribed fires are active management practices that will prevent our national forests from further becoming fire-prone tinder boxes."

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