Fix Our Forests Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Chair, I appreciate this opportunity. I think we have seen why we are here today. It is because in the past decade, America has witnessed firsthand the devastation, the death, and the massive destruction from wildfires.

In my home State of California, this year alone, wildfires have burned almost 1 million acres. That is just one-fourth of the acres that burned back in 2020.

In my congressional district along the coast of California, we have endured some of the most extreme wildfires in our Nation's history in the Los Padres National Forest, Santa Cruz Mountains, and the Big Sur coastline.

Now, unfortunately, 80 percent of wildfires are caused by humans. What really makes us vulnerable to these extreme fires in this time of extreme weather and, yes, in this time of extreme climate change, is that we are doing what we can to fight the fires, but we just aren't doing enough to prevent the fires.

Decades of dereliction when it comes to doing anything to manage wildlands is a persistent cause of why the Western United States is so susceptible to the devastating conflagrations we are experiencing.

That is why we need to do something, anything, when it comes to the management of our forests and to be proactive when it comes to protecting our wetlands and the lives and livelihoods of those who live in the wildland-urban interface.

The Fix Our Forests Act is a big step in the right direction to restore the health of forests, to bolster their resiliency, and, yes, to reduce the threat of wildfires.

This legislation would allow all levels of government to play their part with community wildfire risk reduction programs, a national Fireshed Center, and, yes, to fix our flawed permitting system, not by getting rid of NEPA but with the flexibility necessary so that those on the ground can implement prevention projects, manage our forests, and therefore protect our forests.

Another key part of this legislation would also expand and encourage the use of prescribed burns in fireshed areas that would not only help prevent fires, it would help my congressional district keep on track with our management plan.

As wildfire seasons have turned into wildfire years, we have learned our lesson and have done an excellent job fighting fires, but now it is time we must do something to prevent wildfires.

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