The
Bush Administration Has Proposed Legislation to Implement Key Aspects of the Healthy
Forests Initiative. The
Legislation Focuses on Timely Decision-Making to Reduce Risk of Catastrophic Wildfire
and Enhance Forest Health. Please
Contact Immediately Your Members of the House and Senate and Ask Them to Support
the President's Healthy Forests Initiative! The
primary goal of the President's Healthy Forests Initiative is to protect people,
communities, and the environment from the effects of catastrophic wildfires. Federal
lands are increasingly vulnerable to catastrophic wildfires. About 190 million
acres of federal forests and rangelands in the lower 48 states face high risks
of catastrophic fire due to deteriorating ecosystem health and drought. Risk to
lives and property has increased as more and more people move into the wildland-urban
interface. Catastrophic wildfires have caused huge life loss, property damage,
disruption to local economies, damage to municipal watersheds and environmental
damage such as damaged fisheries, destroyed endangered species habitat, soil sterilization,
etc. The
Healthy Forests Legislation will achieve active forest management through common-sense
efforts. The legislation allows resource managers, working with state and local
governments, to move forward quickly to reduce hazardous fuels in fire-prone areas
near communities, municipal water supplies, and areas severely infected by disease
and insects. It provides new management tools, a more effective administrative
process, expedited public collaboration, and prompt, balanced judicial review.
The
legislation also promotes collaboration consistent with the 10-year Comprehensive
Strategy and Implementation Plan for Reducing Wild-land Fire Risks to Communities
and the Environment adopted by the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture and
17 Western Governors from both parties. Action
Plan --- Please contact your members of the House and Senate and urge them
to support the President's Healthy Forests Initiative! If you have any questions
or comments please contact Legislative Research Analyst Chil-Sook
Hwang by fax: 202 347-1091 or by phone 1-888-4GRANGE, ext 109. Thank
you for your grassroots participation in the National Grange Legislative program.
| 
