Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) encouraged his colleagues to support the Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act during a floor statement made on Tuesday.
The proposed bill would renew the federal government’s commitment to manage federal forests. Thompson said it would benefit rural schools, counties and also improve forest health and multiple-use land practices.
Thompson, the chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy & Forestry, cosponsored the bill along with 21 members in the House.
Specific provisions in the bill include the reestablishment of the priority of actively managing forests and promoting responsible timber production on Forest Service commercial timber land. It would also prevent catastrophic wildfires by allowing greater state and local involvement.
“Decreased timber harvesting means more dead trees and more highly flammable biomaterials that do little more than serve as fuel for wildfires,” Thompson said.
The U.S. Forest Service recently estimated that 65 to 82 million acres of Forest Service lands are at high risk of wildfires.
According to the House Committee on Natural Resources, the proposed bill would also improve forest management by allowing counties to actively manage parts of National Forest land.
The committee estimated the legislation would create at least 68,000 direct jobs and up to 140,000 indirect jobs.
The bill is tentatively slated for House consideration in September.