Particle.news
Download on the App Store
3 ARTICLES
·
6d ago

Senate Panel Advances Bipartisan Wildfire Bill to Speed Forest Projects

Supporters tout expedited reviews to reduce wildfire risk; critics warn of weakened environmental safeguards.

Dairy cows stand in the corral of a dairy farm west of Bakersfield, California, on April 9, 2025. As President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs took effect this weekend, US farmers hoping for a profit this year instead found themselves facing lower crop prices -- and the prospect of ceding more ground in foreign markets. The International Dairy Foods Association cautioned that "broad and prolonged tariffs" on top trading partners and growing markets risk undermining billions in investments (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
Image
Image

Overview

  • The Senate Agriculture Committee voted 18-5 to advance the Fix Our Forests Act to the full Senate.
  • The measure would expand NEPA categorical exclusions to projects up to 10,000 acres and establish Fireshed Management Areas updated every five years.
  • The bill shortens the window to sue over projects from six years to 150 days, and a proposal from Sen. Cory Booker to change that timeline failed.
  • Backers include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Western Governors’ Association, and cattle ranchers, with the bill directing a federal strategy to use grazing to reduce fire risk.
  • Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club oppose the legislation as weakening conservation protections and enabling increased logging, and the House passed its own version earlier this year.