WASHINGTON D.C. — Since June 1, 2018, Congressman Greg Walden has worked on several types of legislation regarding forest management. Last month, the congressman co-sponsored a new bill: the Resilient Federal Forests Act.
“I don’t want us to be what some call smoke refugees. I don’t think we should accept that as our reality,” Rep. Walden said.
Rep. Walden says the bill, the Resilient Federal Forests Act, would reduce wildfires.
“We have to do more effort to thin out the forests. We know that will reduce the intensity of fires by 70 percent and reduce carbon emissions by up to 85 percent if we can get in and properly manage our forests,” Rep. Walden said.
It calls for the clean-up of burned, dead trees and for agencies to replant 75 percent of burned forests within five years.
“I think that’s really important to stabilize the soils, restore the habitat and get a vibrant, green, new forest growing again,” Rep. Walden said.
The bill is currently before the House Committee on Natural Resources. Rep. Walden says more than 70 percent of the money spent to complete a project like this is spent in the planning stages.
“I can’t imagine if you were building a house or a building of some nature that you’d spend 70 percent of the cost of that house just on the blueprints,” Rep. Walden said.
He hopes the Resilient Federal Forests Act would streamline the process of protecting forests and put more funds toward materials, making it more cost efficient. He says trees remaining after a wildfire can also be utilized.
“Let’s put it to good use. Let’s get it through our mills and use that money to create jobs and to pay for replanting our forests,” Rep. Walden said.
Rep. Walden put a provision in this year’s Farm Bill to allow 6,000 acres of forest thinning and replanting, but it was stripped by the house before passing congress. The congressman still supported the Farm Bill, but says there’s still work to be done.
“You get after the problem faster, you thinned our the forests to be back in balance with nature and you use that material for a productive purpose to generate revenue and create jobs and you replant a new forest. It’s pretty smart stewardship,” Rep. Walden said.
Rep. Walden says he is focused on the Resilient Federal Forests Act to aid wildfire resiliency. He hopes it’ll have a hearing soon.
Like Senator Jeff Merkley, Rep. Walden also voted in favor of a $19.1 billion disaster package that was passed by congress and signed by the president. Some of the money goes toward Oregon agriculture affected by wildfires, while some addresses fire borrowing.
CORRECTION 6/19/19: This post has been updated to show that Rep. Walden was a co-sponsor of the Resilient Federal Forests Act. He did not introduce it.
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