Members Applaud U.S. Forest Service's Announcement on Actions to Save Our Sequoias

Press Release

Today, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) announced it will use emergency powers under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to take immediate action on protecting Giant Sequoias, as first proposed by the bipartisan Save Our Sequoias (SOS) Act. The SOS Act was introduced by House Committee on Natural Resources Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and U.S. Reps. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), Jim Costa (D-Calif.), David Valadao (R-Calif.), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) and Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) on June 23, 2022. The members released the following statement:

"We applaud the U.S. Forest Service's announcement on using emergency authorities, as first proposed in the SOS Act, to take swift action to protect the Giant Sequoias. Wildfires do not respect partisan politics or jurisdictional boundaries; if we waste time over petty politics, they will continue burning through sequoia groves and threatening to eradicate these iconic trees forever. The Forest Service's action today is an important step forward for Giant Sequoias, but without addressing other barriers to protecting these groves, this emergency will only continue. That is why we introduced the bipartisan SOS Act, a comprehensive approach to protecting Giant Sequoias that not only addresses NEPA, but also other federal laws that make it difficult to remove hazardous fuels from the groves on federal lands. Now it's time to codify this action by establishing a true comprehensive solution to fireproof every grove in California through the SOS Act and save our sequoias."

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