News & Press https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/default.asp Mon, 29 Jun 2026 14:13:29 GMT Mon, 3 Nov 2025 15:12:00 GMT Copyright © 2025 National Forest Homeowners Fix Our Forests Act https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=713712 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=713712 Emergency language in wildfire bill splits environmentalists

 

The “Fix Our Forests Act” would limit public objections to projects aimed at preventing wildfires.

E&E DAILY | A fast-moving bill to reduce wildfire risks in national forests would give the Agriculture Department a work-around past even the bill’s modest environmental safeguards, making the measure tough to swallow for some environmentalists and Hill Democrats.

The "Fix Our Forests Act," S. 1462, which advanced out of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee with bipartisan support earlier this month, would give the Agriculture secretary wide latitude to declare “emergency” situations on millions of acres of federal land.

The language in the bill would provide even faster forest work than the rest of the legislation envisions and offer limited opportunity for the public to object.

The legislation has built momentum and is now raising alarms among environmental groups that oppose it. The House passed a similar bill earlier this year with 60 Democrats joining Republicans on the effort.

“This administration is redefining what we call an emergency," said Ellen Stuart Haentjens, executive director of the Virginia Wilderness Committee, a nonprofit environmental group.

The “emergency” designation is so broad, she said, it could encompass projects that have more to do with harvesting timber than preventing wildfires.

The legislation spells out a couple of scenarios for fast-tracked thinning and logging, which advocates say will help prevent the worst wildfires by depriving them of potential fuel.

First, the bill calls for bigger “categorical exclusions” from the National Environmental Policy Act — growing from 3,000 acres to 10,000 acres for some types of projects in the high-risk firesheds — and would place new limitations on legal challenges.

One new categorical exclusion in the bill would allow for quicker removal of “hazard” trees that could harm wildland firefighters, for instance. Categorical exclusions pare back NEPA reviews based on a finding that projects won't cause environmental harm.

Then, the bill would allow the Agriculture secretary to also declare an emergency in any of those places, further speeding the process and limiting public comment. Around 250 areas in the Western U.S. already have the highest-risk designation from the Forest Service, and the bill spells out a process for adding more.

'Inartfully drafted bill'

Fitting the pieces together has some congressional staffers and lawmakers scratching their heads, even though the measure has bipartisan sponsors in both chambers.

“It is very confusing,” said a forest policy aide to a Democratic senator who has misgivings about the bill. The aide was granted anonymity to speak openly about potential negotiations.

Among other wrinkles: Some provisions in the bill aim to counteract the Trump administration’s efforts to weaken NEPA regulations, by declaring that forest projects must comply with the environmental law. But those provisions may be open to interpretation, the aide said.

“It’s an inartfully drafted bill,” the aide said.

Responding to those concerns, a Republican aide on the House Natural Resources Committee disputed the notion that the bill shuts out the public, adding that authors sought to preserve public comment provisions already allowed under categorical exclusions. "It wouldn't get rid of public engagement,” said the aide, who was granted anonymity to openly discuss deliberations.

The Republican aide said the public supports faster work in the forests to curb wildfires that endanger communities. The bill "could be a really good balance" between expanding the pace and scale of forest work and allowing public objections to projects, the aide said.

A spokesperson for the Senate sponsor of the bill, Republican John Curtis of Utah, did not respond to a request for comment.

Bill backers point to testimony from Chris French, the Forest Service's acting associate chief, at a Senate hearing in May. "I do not see anything in 'Fix Our Forests' that would change that commitment of working collaboratively with our local governments and with the people that are there," French said.

Some key Democrats, including ranking member Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, voted for the bill in committee. Klobuchar's office did not respond to a request for comment.

But others, including Sens. Adam Schiff of California and Michael Bennet of Colorado, opposed it despite representing states that face some of the highest wildfire risks.

The legislation’s environmental ramifications remain the main stumbling block for some congressional Democrats, although there appears to be enough support to pass it in the Republican-led Senate and House with at least a smattering of Democratic votes.

Environmental and conservation groups are split, with the Environmental Defense Fund and the National Wildlife Federation in favor and the Center for Biological Diversity and Earthjustice firmly opposed.

All sides agree the nation’s federally managed forests need help. Nearly 67 million acres of the national forest system is at very high or high risk of wildfire, according to the Forest Service. Nearly 79 million acres are either experiencing or likely to experience disease or insect infestation, the agency said.

One of the bill’s main Democratic sponsors in the Senate, Alex Padilla of California, believes the legislation in that chamber has been written in a way that would protect some of the NEPA regulations the administration is looking to change, aides to the senator said. That includes ensuring public involvement as projects are proposed, they said.

Haentjens, at the Virginia wilderness group, said she worries the bill may go in the opposite direction in practice, by embracing some of what the administration aims to do with the NEPA revamp, outlined in an interim final rule published in July and the subject of an online column by Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz.

Questions from timber

Even the timber industry isn’t completely sold on the bill that passed in the Senate committee, although from a different perspective. The measure appears to put new responsibilities on the Forest Service to use fast-track authorities that already exist, said Nick Smith, a spokesperson for the American Forest Resource Council, a trade group.

“We are eager to understand how the Forest Service would implement aspects of the latest version of FOFA, including the Firesheds areas that include new, additional requirements to use existing streamlined authorities the agency already has at its disposal,” Smith said in an email.

Emergency determinations — spelled out in the bipartisan infrastructure law during the Biden administration — allow forest projects to proceed without formal objection periods and with reduced consultation with tribal governments. Many Republicans opposed the infrastructure law and the Trump administration has tried to freeze some of its spending.

Emergency determinations also forbid the Forest Service from exploring alternatives to specific fast-tracked forest projects, giving the agency two choices: the proposed action, or no action.

To the timber industry and others favoring faster forest management, that’s much of the appeal: Projects to thin forest-prone forests take too long — sometimes several years — to move through agency reviews, including those required by the National Environmental Policy Act, they say. Sometimes, wildfires hit areas where such projects have been delayed.

In reality, much of the 193 million-acre national forest system is already covered by such a determination. On April 3, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins declared 112.6 million acres to be in an emergency due to high or very high wildfire risk.

That’s more than half of the system’s 144 million acres of land that’s forested, as opposed to grassland, and likely overlaps closely with the “firesheds” envisioned in the “Fix Our Forests Act,” policy groups said.

‘Practical wildfire solutions’

Some projects are already moving ahead with the scaled-back reviews. In Virginia, the Forest Service canceled one previously proposed project called Devils Hens Nest, on the Jefferson National Forest, and substituted three projects under different names and limited the public comment period to 14 days instead of the typical 30 days, Haentjens said.

Projects advanced through emergency determinations also don’t have to fall entirely within the area the USDA says is in an emergency; only 50 percent or more has to be within those boundaries, according to Rollins’ memo.

Whether the bill changes much on the way to potentially becoming law is questionable, congressional aides said. Bennet, the Colorado Democrat, has called for adding more opportunity for tribal and public engagement, but Republicans rejected an amendment to do so at the markup.

Aides said Democrats are still focused on that issue, as well as on providing funding to cover the additional forest work and community protection the legislation proposes. House Republicans, limited by their own spending-related rules on legislation, have resisted such efforts.

The bill’s route to becoming law will dictate those debates, said the Democratic aide, whose office supports such changes. The best odds, this aide said, would be to attach the “Fix Our Forests Act” to a must-pass spending bill that might give Democratic senators some leverage.

Padilla focused on the positive in a news release, calling the measure’s passage “real progress toward protecting Americans and our environment through forward-thinking, practical wildfire solutions.”

Four environmental groups have backed the Senate bill: the EDF, the NWF, The Nature Conservancy and the National Audubon Society. All had previously expressed misgivings about the House version.

In a letter of support that Padilla’s office included in a news release, the organizations said the measure has “come a long way” since consideration in the House earlier this year, while still falling short on funding.

They wrote in the letter: “We believe the wildfire crisis our country is facing, due in large part to the effects of climate change, is too serious and too dangerous for us not to engage in this important bipartisan forest management and wildfire proposal that could impact how the areas most at risk for wildfires are treated and how the decisions to treat are made.”

]]> Mon, 3 Nov 2025 16:12:00 GMT Shutdown Update - Latest from Summit Strategies https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=713542 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=713542 Latest from Summit Strategies
October 30, 2025


Note: Information below is current at the time of publication but is subject to change! 

Bipartisan Senate Group Expected to Formally Meet: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) expects to meet soon with a group of rank-and-file Senate Democrats about ending the 29 day (and counting) federal government shutdown. If the meeting happens, it would be a rare bipartisan gathering involving a top party leader. Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have not met to discuss an exit path to the shutdown, leaving it to a small group of members who have engaged in informal talks. This comes after a tense floor exchange with Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), who sought to pass a patch for SNAP by unanimous consent. Thune tried to offer the House passed continuing resolution instead, but Luján objected, and Thune ultimately blocked the legislation. 

Dems Claim They Are Winning the Messaging War (But Are They?): Today, House Democratic leadership released polling that indicates they are winning the messaging war on the government shutdown. The poll shows that an overwhelming majority of Americans (60%) think preventing a huge increase in health insurance premiums is more important than ending the government shutdown. In another poll released today, 45% of those surveyed said that Democrats should not budge on healthcare subsidies before ending the shutdown. Only 32% of respondents said they should not. However, today was not all good news for democratic lawmakers. The Washington Post editorial board called on Democrats to reopen the government. This, in addition to the nation’s largest federal workers’ union calling for passage of the continuing resolution, highlights that there is not consensus among historically left-leaning groups on how to approach the shutdown as the end of the month quickly approaches.  

]]> Thu, 30 Oct 2025 23:15:00 GMT Shutdown Update - Latest from Summit Strategies https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=712086 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=712086 October 8, 2025

Shutdown 2025 Updates

Note: This situation is extremely fluid. Information below is current at time of publication but is subject to change!

Senate Fails to Pass Funding Bill Again: The Senate voted today for the sixth time on a stopgap funding bill. With a vote of 54-45, lawmakers in the Senate failed to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to advance the bill. Once again senators, Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Angus King (I-ME), and John Fetterman (D-PA), broke ranks with the Democratic party and voted “yes” on the funding bill written by Republicans. Only one Republican senator, Rand Paul (R-KY), voted “no”. Democrats say that the first move toward breaking the impasse is for Republicans to negotiate with their counterparts. However, Republicans say they will not enter negotiations over the soon to expire Affordable Care Act subsidies until the government is reopened.

House Democrats Call for Email Probe: House Democrats are urging the Department of Justice to investigate the Trump administration for allegedly “commandeering the email accounts of thousands of nonpartisan, career civil servants without their consent”, a move they argue violates the First Amendment. The demand follows reports last week that multiple furloughed Department of Education employees had automatic out-of-office replies sent from their government email accounts without their approval blaming Senate Democrats for the shutdown.]]> Wed, 8 Oct 2025 21:49:00 GMT Government Shutdown Update - Summit Strategies https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=711878 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=711878 October 6, 2025
Shutdown 2025 Updates from Summit Strategies (NFH Government Affairs)

Note: This situation is extremely fluid. Information below is current at time of publication but is subject to change!
Heading into the week, the stalemate over government funding continues. Here are some highlights to be aware of:

The Shutdown Continues
The House will not return to session today to vote as Speaker Mike Johnson had previously indicated. The cancellation followed the Senate’s fourth rejection of the House-passed continuing resolution, which would have extended federal funding through November 21st. Johnson and GOP leaders maintain that version is the only viable way to break the impasse. However, Democrats insist they will not vote to reopen the government without some agreement around soon-to-expire health insurance subsidies. On Saturday, Johnson told House Republicans in a closed-door call that he will issue a 48-hour notice if they need to return to the Capitol this week. During the call, Johnson sought to rally his members, pointing out that the House has already done its part by passing the seven-week stopgap.

Sean Duffy Slated to Speak
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is slated to address the impact of the government shutdown on airports and air travel as the disruption enters its sixth day. Joining him will be Nick Daniels, President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, at Newark Liberty International Airport, a facility that has already endured a year of outages and staffing shortages, resulting in hundreds of delayed or canceled flights. Despite the shutdown, air traffic controllers and TSA personnel are classified as essential and must continue working without pay until Congress reopens the government. Officials fear that an extended shutdown could drive some workers to call in sick as experienced during the 2019 government shutdown. In 2019, TSA had a national rate of 7.6% increase in unscheduled absences compared to 3.2% the year prior. Hundreds of employees stayed home or quit, causing flight disruptions and longer lines at security checkpoints.

]]> Mon, 6 Oct 2025 23:48:00 GMT Public Comment on NW Forest Plan https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=695737 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=695737 3/11/2025

Northwest Forest Plan Amendment Public Comment Period Window Closes March 17, 2025.

The 120-day public comment period on the proposed amendment for the Northwest Forest Plan and draft environmental impact statement (EIS) closes on March 17, 2025. The draft EIS analyzes potential options to improve wildfire resilience, promote economic opportunities and sustainable forest stewardship, and support tribal collaboration. 

Comments on the draft EIS can be submitted using the USDA Forest Service Public Comment Portal or by mail to: USDA Forest Service, 1220 SW 3rd Ave Ste. G015, Portland, OR, 97204. This is an opportunity to let your voice be heard about how our public lands are managed.

  

For more information, please visit the NWFP Amendment Project Page.  

]]> Tue, 11 Mar 2025 16:23:00 GMT President Trump issues Executive Order to Expand American Timber Production https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=695461 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=695461 Today, President Trump issued an Executive Order directing US Federal Land Agencies, including the USDA Forest Service to expand their efforts to increase timber production on federal public lands.

Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production

]]> Sat, 1 Mar 2025 05:00:00 GMT NFH Welcomes new Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=695439 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=695439 U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins today announced Tom Schultz will serve as the 21st chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service. With this announcement, current Chief Randy Moore announced his retirement from the agency, effective March 3, 2025. NFH welcomes Chief Schultz and looks forward to working with him.

Secretary Rollins names Tom Schultz Chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service

 

To learn more about the new Chief, read his first communication to Forest Service employees.

Meet Tom Schultz, 21st Chief of the Forest Service

]]> Thu, 27 Feb 2025 05:00:00 GMT Hermit's Peak Fire Recovery - Help for Those with Losses https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=622736 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=622736 As of September 30, 2022, the Hermits Peak Fire Assistance Act (“HPFAA”) was signed into law by President Biden as part of the Continuing Resolution to fund Congress. Click here to see the HPFAA.

Here are some of the law's provisions:

  • Purpose – To compensate victims of the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire for injuries resulting from the fire and to provide for the expeditious consideration and settlement of claims for those injuries.

  • Injured Person – Injured person could be an individual, Indian Tribe, corporation, Tribal corporation, partnership, company, association, county, township, city, State, school district, or other non-Federal entity that suffered injury resulting from the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire.

  • Deadline – The Act allows injured persons up to 2 years to submit a claim for injuries, which begins to run once FEMA promulgates and publishes regulations regarding the HPFAA in the Federal Register. FEMA has 45 days to promulgate those regulations and publish them in the Federal Register. The 2-year period for submitting claims will begin soon.

    Once your claim is filed, the administrator must make a decision within 180 days of your claim being filed.

  • Allowable Damages – Covers a wide array types of damages: loss of property, business loss (including damage to assets/inventory, business interruption loss, overhead costs, employee wages for work not performed, loss of business net income), financial loss (including increased mortgage interest costs, insurance deductible, temporary living or relocation expense, lost wages/personal income, emergency staffing expense, debris removal, cost of reasonable efforts to reduce risk of wildfire flood, flood insurance premium, etc.).

    Recovery of any other loss that the Administrator determines to be appropriate is also included. Excluded in this law are punitive damages and pre-judgment interest. The laws of the State of New Mexico will apply on the calculation of damages.

  • Election of Remedy – An injured person may seek compensation from one of the following: (1) submitted a claim under HPFAA, (2) filing a claim/civil action under the Federal Tort Claims Act, or (3) bringing an authorized civil action under any other provision of law. Once you elect one of these remedies, the choice is final.

  • Attorney’s Fees – Attorney’s fees are limited to 25% of your recovery of damages under HPFAA.
]]> Thu, 10 Nov 2022 02:05:00 GMT New Plan to Reduce Wildfire Risk https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=593045 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=593045 New Forest Service Plan to Combat Wildfire Dangers

https://www.fs.usda.gov/news/releases/secretary-vilsack-announces-new-10-year-strategy-confront-wildfire-crisis

Preventative measures, like thinning and controlled burns, are one part of the strategy released this week by the Forest Service, as well as focusing on larger areas that are at high-risk.  In the new strategy being announced, the U.S. Forest Service plans to dramatically increase the amount of land treated to 50 million acres over 10 years.

In recent years ,the FS has typically treated 2 to 3 million acres to improve forest health and reduce fire risks; about 20 million to 30 million acres over a decade versus an increase the effectively doubles that area. All federal, state, tribal and private lands across the West are in the strategy released on Tuesday.

"Firesheds" or high-risk area of 250,000 acres posing risk to communities and infrastructure will be prioritized. Per the agency, the highest priority areas for treatment, based on risks to nearby communities, are in parts of Arizona, California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon and other western states.

The FS plans to work with other federal agencies, as well as states and local agencies, to carry out the plan.  Nearly $3 billion of funding from the $1.2 trillion infrastructure law of 2021 are going toward this work. 

 

]]> Thu, 20 Jan 2022 17:16:42 GMT Forest Programs - Reductions in Build Back Better https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=586012 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=586012 (from an article by Marc Heller, E&E Daily)

 

The latest version of the "Build Back Better Act," the $1.7 trillion package advanced by Democrats, includes cuts that impact our National Forests.  The revised plans from the Democrats include a cut of $40 billion from the original package passed by the House Agriculture Committee in September.  It would still be the biggest single investment ever in national forests, according to Senate leaders.

 

In terms of wildfire, no reductions were made to the originally planned $14 billion to reduce fuel on forests. So, h azardous fuel reduction would remain as initially proposed, at $10 billion in the wildland-urban interface and $4 billion in other areas.

 

The deep cuts include a reduction from $9 billion to $2 billion for forest restoration and resilience grants that go to states and communities.

$100 million less than initially proposed, or $150 million, for state and volunteer fire assistance grants, which help budget-strapped local fire departments.

Grants to provide markets for low-value material from forests, comes up $225 million less than the original proposal.  Vegetation management in watersheds and the legacy roads and trails program would see reductions.

 

One program is now missing - the proposed Civilian Climate Corps, which was targeted for $2.25 billion in the forestry-related version marked up in the House — in addition to CCC funds for other agencies.  The Agriculture Committee said the CCC funding is now included in the $14 billion for hazardous fuels treatments.

 

Reductions are the result of the internal fights over the total spending and roadblocks by Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, both of whom wouldn't accept such an expensive bill.

 

After cuts, the $54 billion to agriculture and forests leaves them still as more generously funded than other programs.  

 

Conservation programs survived the process mainly intact, at $28 billion, although the latest version reduced the amount for agricultural research from $7.5 billion to $2 billion.  The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition pressed to prevent cuts to conservation, which could help pave the way to a more generous five-year farm bill in 2024.


The nonprofit group American Forests pushed to preserve $40 billion for forestry, saying lawmakers should "leave no tree behind" and adding, "Dollar for dollar, forests offer the largest, most effective natural solution for carbon sequestration."

]]> Fri, 5 Nov 2021 19:25:09 GMT Randy Moore, Regional Forester for Pacific Southwest becomes Chief of Forest Service https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=571463 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=571463 Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Randy Moore, Regional Forester in the Pacific Southwest Region as the 20th Chief of the Forest Service today.  Current Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen will step down from her role on July 26. Chief Christiansen and Regional Forester Moore will continue to collaborate on an intentional leadership transition between now and then as the Forest Service gears up for a tough summer of predicted elevated fire activity across the Western United States. Please see more information in the press release and employee letter.

“Randy Moore has been a catalyst for change and creativity in carrying out the Forest Service’s mission to sustain the health, diversity and productivity of the nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations,” said Secretary Vilsack. “In his role as Regional Forester, Randy has been a conservation leader on the forefront of climate change, most notably leading the Region’s response to the dramatic increase in catastrophic wildfires in California over the last decade. His proven track record of supporting and developing employees and putting communities at the center of the Forest Service’s work positions him well to lead the agency into the future at this critical time in our country.”

Upon swearing in, Moore will serve as the first African American to hold the role of Chief of the Forest Service.

Randy Moore has been serving as Regional Forester in the Pacific Southwest Region in California since 2007 where he has responsibility for 18 national forests, covering one-fifth of the state on 20 million acres of land. Additionally, he oversees State and Private Forestry programs in Hawaii and the U.S. affiliated Pacific Islands.

Previously, Moore served as the Regional Forester for the Eastern Region headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisc., for five years.

Moore started his career in conservation in 1978 with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in North Dakota. His Forest Service career began on the Pike and San Isabel National Forests in Colorado and the Comanche and Cimarron National Grasslands in Kansas. He served as Deputy Forest Supervisor on the National Forests of North Carolina and the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri before serving as Forest Supervisor of the Mark Twain National Forest. Moore also has national-level experience in Washington, D.C., serving as acting Associate Deputy Chief for the National Forest System and the National Deputy Soils Program Manager.

Moore earned a bachelor’s degree in plant and soil science from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He and his wife Antoinette have two sons, a daughter-in-law, and two grandsons.

]]> Mon, 28 Jun 2021 20:34:20 GMT USFS Chief Christiansen Announces her Retirement https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=569393 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=569393 Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen announced today that she will retire in August. Chief Christiansen said in a statement on the Forest Service's website that "the time is right" and that she's been working with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack for several months to plan her retirement after 40 years in forestry and 11 years at the Forest Service. She cited her desire to be closer to and spend more time with her family in Washington State.  Watch her video for the full statement.

The Department of Agriculture is in the final stages of selecting a replacement and Secretary Vilsack intends to announce the choice in the coming weeks. Like other Forest Service positions, the chief is a career professional position, not a political post, and it doesn't require Senate confirmation.

National Forest Homeowners expresses our appreciation for the Chief's leadership of the agency and her support of the recreation residence program.  We wish her well in retirement.

]]> Fri, 11 Jun 2021 19:35:04 GMT Forest Roads May Get Funding https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=557822 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=557822 Forest Roads in Infrastructure Bills?

A big transportation bill may help the largest federal road system, which runs in and through our national forests.  An upcoming measure may be able to reduce the Forest Service's $3 billion road maintenance backlog.

Forest roads don't often get included when discussing the nation's transportation network, but they provide access to public land for millions of visitors and help crews fight wildfires, as well as providing access for logging. Conservation groups have tried to get Congress to consider 370,359 miles of forest roads in any infrastructure and transportation reform and funding — at least to maintain what's already in use.  By contrast, the Interstate Highway System totals 46,876 miles, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

Two existing programs could receive increases in any infrastructure package. The Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Program covers road and trail maintenance, and keeps in mind environmental protection. That could mean building new culverts; taking measures to reduce road runoff into streams; and decommissioning roads that aren't in use or, in the view of forest managers, pose environmental dangers.

Congress cut off funding to this program in 2018. An infrastructure bill would give supporters an opportunity to make sure the program is permanently funded.

Another program, the Federal Lands Transportation Program, covers roads in national forests, but the Forest Service receives far less than the Interior Department, which oversees national parks. Some groups and lawmakers, including California Reps. Salud Carbajal (D) and Doug LaMalfa (R) are pushing for greater equity.  Interior was budgeted $300 million from the program this fiscal year, compared to $19 million for the Forest Service, although Interior has just 13,200 miles of roads compared to the more than 300,000 in the National Forest System.  Carbajal and LaMalfa proposed giving the Forest Service $250 million in 2023, with increasing amounts each year through 2027.

Forest Service Deputy Chief Chris French described the agency's challenges at a hearing in February. The agency sometimes has to close unsafe roads, he said on the agency's website the next day. To achieve a fully safe and sustainable system, he said, the Forest Service would need an almost twice as much as the legislators are recommending annually for a decade.

]]> Wed, 24 Mar 2021 16:42:12 GMT Great American Outdoors Act is Law https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=523430 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=523430 The public is celebrating the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act signed into law on August 4, 2020. The Act provides $900 million in land conservation funds and additional funding for maintenance backlogs on public lands including Dept of Interior and USDA Forest Service.

In celebration of this historic achievement, U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt announced that visitor entrance fees will be waived each year on August 4th and the date will be designated “Great American Outdoors Day,” a fee-free day annually to commemorate the signing of the Act.

Increasing popularity of our public lands has resulted in our national parks and forests needing upgrades and improvements for more than 5,500 miles of paved roads, 17,000 miles of trails and 24,000 buildings.The act provides funding to remedy some of these backlogs, plus funding for purchases of conservation lands.

NPS:

  • August 5: Great American Outdoors Act Commemoration
  • August 25: National Park Service Birthday
  • September 26: National Public Lands Day
  • November 11: Veterans Day

BLM:

  • August 5: Great American Outdoors Act Commemoration
  • September 26: National Public Lands Day
  • November 11: Veterans Day

FWS:

  • August 5: Great American Outdoors Act Commemoration
  • September 26: National Public Lands Day
  • October 11: First Sunday of National Wildlife Refuge Week
  • November 11: Veterans Day
]]> Wed, 26 Aug 2020 23:56:50 GMT Forest Restoration Bill Being Introduced https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=519331 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=519331 Wed, 29 Jul 2020 18:04:19 GMT Great American Outdoors Act Expected to Pass House https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=518370 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=518370 Bipartisan Public Lands Legislation

The House is expected to pass bipartisan conservation legislation that many in Congress and the Trump administration hope will boost an ailing economy. This includes shovel-ready outdoor and infrastructure projects it will fund.

The Great American Outdoors Act (S.3422) is includes mandatory funding at $900 million a year for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, no longer will this fund be subject to the annual appropriations process. LWCF pays for federal land acquisition as well as parks, wildlife refuges, ball fields and other conservation projects in states and local communities across the country, both rural and urban.

The legislation also creates a new five-year trust fund of up to $9.5 billion from unallocated onshore and offshore energy revenues to address a $20 billion deferred maintenance backlog in America’s national parks and public lands.

“Combined, these two major programs amount to one of the biggest wins in conservation in decades,” House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said Wednesday during floor debate.

President Donald Trump has said he will sign the bill, which the Senate passed in June.

Previous Trump administration budget proposals have recommended gutting LWCF, but two of the program’s biggest Republican advocates in the Senate—Cory Gardner (Colo.) and Steve Daines (Mont.)—face tough re-election campaigns this year.

Many outside groups, from sportsmen to small businesses to environmental organizations, strongly support the bill.

“The Great American Outdoors Act is a long overdue investment and will be a game changer for the National Park Service,” said Marcia Argust, project director for Restore America’s Parks at the Pew Charitable Trusts. “Instead of having to resort to Band-Aid fixes, the agency can finally undertake critical repair projects that will provide for lasting access, historic preservation, and job creation.”

Reps. Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.) and Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), the lead sponsors of the House bill, said that the legislation would create approximately 100,000 jobs at a time when the country desperately needs them.

But Utah Republican Rob Bishop has objected to making LWCF funding mandatory, especially at a time when oil and gas revenues are falling sharply because of the pandemic, according to the Congressional Research Service.

LWCF relies on offshore energy revenue. That revenue also funds the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA), including the revenue-sharing arrangement between the federal government and the Gulf Coast states that produce most of that energy.

This bill is expected to pass the house later on Wednesday.

]]> Wed, 22 Jul 2020 20:28:51 GMT Funding for Forest Service and Wildfire Defense https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=482067 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=482067 Legislation for fiscal 2020 aims to add funding to agriculture and forestry programs, including additional money for wildfire suppression in national forests.

This includes $10.3 million more for clearing hazardous fuels in national forests to cut risk of catastrophic fire in the wildland-urban interface. Plus, it includes another $1.95 billion going toward wildfire fighting efforts, as part of the wildfire disaster fund legislation passed by Congress two years ago. The measure would also increase funding for state and local volunteer firefighting capacity.

(summarized from an E&E News article by Marc Heller 12/17/19)


]]> Tue, 17 Dec 2019 16:12:35 GMT CA Moratorium on Dropping Insurance in High-Risk Areas https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=481929 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=481929 Losing insurance coverage? Maybe not so fast.

According to an article in the New York Times this week, the State of California has passed a moratorium on dropping customers from fire insurance in areas where recent wildfires have been. This may or may not impact cabin owners. Insurers continue to assess high risk and non-renew policies affecting cabin owners in the Recreation Residence Program.  The article specifies that the moratorium on dropping insurance is only for one year while the state studies the situation.

The article goes on to describe a worsening situation as catastrophic losses from climate impact mount while the insurance industry's has show an inability to estimate such climate-related disaster risk accurately.

"The state [California] has become a case study of how an industry that is central to dealing with climate change has instead been hobbled by it — and how regulators, in their efforts to protect consumers, could risk making the problem worse."

The State appears to be studying this regulatory issue, as it grapples with ongoing catastrophes.

Note from NFH: Many cabin owners have lost insurance coverage due to the carriers pulling out of the state or zip codes considered high risk. If the moratorium does not protect your insurance, NFH has an insurance program for Recreation Residence permit-holders. Click here to learn more.

]]> Mon, 16 Dec 2019 16:06:34 GMT USFS Proposes to Improve NEPA Practices https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=457427 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=457427

News Release

USDA Proposes Bold Moves to Improve Forest, Grassland Management

WASHINGTON, DC
June 12, 2019 -

 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Service (USFS) released proposed changes to modernize how the agency complies with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The proposed updates would not only give the Forest Service the tools and flexibility to manage the land and tackle critical challenges like wildfire, insects, and disease but also improve service to the American people. Revising the rules will improve forest conditions and make it simpler for people to use and enjoy their national forests and grasslands at lower cost to the taxpayer. The revised rules will also make it easier to maintain and repair the infrastructure people need to use and enjoy their public lands—the roads, trails, campgrounds, and other facilities.

While these proposed changes will save time and resources, they are ultimately intended to better protect people, communities and forests from catastrophic wildfire and ensure a high level of engagement with people and communities when doing related work and associated environmental analyses.

“We are committed to doing the work to protect people and infrastructure from catastrophic wildfire.  With millions of acres in need of treatment, years of costly analysis and delays are not an acceptable solution – especially when data and experience show us we can get this work done with strong environmental protection standards as well as protect communities, livelihoods and resources,” said Secretary Perdue.

In 2008, the Forest Service codified its procedures for complying with NEPA in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 36 CFR 220. However, these regulations, in large part, still reflect the policies and practices established by the agency’s 1992 NEPA Manual and Handbook. When these regulations were adopted in 2008, they were intended to modernize and improve management processes. The proposed rule would further modernize the agency’s NEPA policy by incorporating experience from past 10 years. This experience includes input from comments on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking from January of 2018, as well as feedback from roundtables, workshops, and input from agency experts.

“We have pored over 10 years of environmental data and have found that in many cases, we do redundant analyses, slowing down important work to protect communities, livelihoods and resources,” said Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen. “We now have an opportunity to use that information to our advantage, and we want to hear from the people we serve to improve these proposed updates.”

The updates would create a new suite of “categorical exclusions,” a classification under the NEPA excluding certain routine activities from more extensive, time-consuming analysis under an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement. The proposed categorical exclusions would be for restoration projects, roads and trails management, and recreation and facility management, as well as special use authorizations that issue permits for outfitters and guides, community organizations, civic groups and others who seek to recreate on our national forests and grasslands. The new categorical exclusions are based on intensive analysis of hundreds of environmental assessments and related data and when fully implemented will reduce process delays for routine activities by months or years.

The proposed update is open for public comment for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. Public comments are reviewed and considered when developing the final rule. Instructions on how to provide comments are included in the online notice.

More information on the proposed rule change and how to comment is available on the Forest Service website.

]]> Sat, 22 Jun 2019 17:34:26 GMT President Threatens to Block FEMA Funds to Fire Victims https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=433371 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=433371 President threatens to block FEMA funds for California fire recovery

 

"Billions of dollars are sent to the State of California for Forrest fires that, with proper Forrest Management, would never happen," Trump tweeted, later editing the post to correct the misspelling of "forest."

"Unless they get their act together, which is unlikely, I have ordered FEMA to send no more money. It is a disgraceful situation in lives & money!" Trump said.

His morning tweet was followed by objections from state's forestry associations.

"How do you describe an individual that would harm people so that he could have his way," said Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.). "The reality is that these funds are necessary for the rebuilding and sustenance of the victims of the fires."

Trump didn't specify which money he wants withheld from FEMA. No order was listed on the White House website. FEMA has continued to pay for disaster recovery despite the government shutdown, agency spokesman Michael Hart said.

Trump's tweet came a day after Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote to the president, asking for more funding to help the state maintain forests on federal land by doubling the federal investment there. Newsom, on his first day on the job, announced his first budget will call for $1 billion for five years for forest management, which includes thinning and prescribed burning.

The governor also signed a pair of executive orders on fires. The first would require state firefighters to craft risk management plans to better cover people who are poor or elderly or have limited mobility. The second seeks to make it easier for the government to contract private-sector technology, and the first project aims to detect fires better.

 

Doug LaMalfa, who represents Paradise and other areas damaged by the Camp Fire in November, tweeted that FEMA had extended its deadline to register for disaster assistance. His statement came between Trump's first tweet and his second, spell-checked one. And it came a day after the Camp Fire was declared the world's single costliest disaster of 2018. Losses topped $16.5 billion, of which about $4 billion was uninsured.

Many forest groups and lawmakers agree that a more intensive approach makes sense in forests, as climate change, disease and insect infestations make forests more fire-prone. Years of fire suppression also stopped fires in areas where wildfire is a normal part of nature's cycle.

Rich Gordon, president of the California Forestry Association said that about 60 percent of forested land in the state is federally owned, and the state has taken on more management there as federal funding has declined, he said. "I think California is trying to step up."

As to withholding FEMA funds, Gordon said, "I'm not even sure what is the appropriate adjective."]]> Thu, 10 Jan 2019 17:37:42 GMT Wildfire Disaster Funding Passed in March Omnibus! https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=394091 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=394091 March 24, 2018

Wildfire Borrowing Solution Part of Compromise on Spending

A bipartisan compromise to boost funding for wildfire suppression passed as part of March's Omnibus bill. U.S. Forest Service and Interior agency costs will be addressed for years to come. The new formula also creates a contingency account with authorizations starting at $2.25 billion in fiscal 2020 as supplemental money for fighting fires.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 maintains budget levels for Interior Department agencies and ups spending authorizations for some agencies, rather than following the Trump administration request for some steep cuts. Agency budgets mostly will go up, not down.
 
Fire Borrowing

In recent years, funding to fight wildfires has continuously fallen short, causing borrowing of money from other Forest Service and Interior accounts, leading to reduction in other services, less attention to fire prevention and thinning, and other detriments to the public lands management activities. The wildfire funding deal was reached through bicameral negotiations among leaders of both parties.

Commercial forestry interests, environmental activists, and lawmakers from Western states had been pushing at least since 2014 for a wildfire funding fix, while fire seasons have gotten longer and suppression costs have climbed. National Forest Homeowners has supported the effort to find a funding fix.

In the omnibus, the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 will be amended to allow for budget adjustments with a schedule of progressively higher caps for disaster relief funds for fighting wildfires starting in fiscal 2020. Those funds only will be available if annual discretionary appropriations, set to equal the fiscal 2015 level, prove inadequate.  Read a summary of how the caps work.

The funding deal was advocated from opposing positions on the political spectrum, such as Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). These states and others suffered a severe 2017 fire season and some of the highest acreage affected by wildfire for several years running.

Authorizations for supplemental funds will not be a blank check, said Cecilia Clavet, senior policy adviser for forest restoration and fire policy at the Nature Conservancy. Congress still will have to appropriate the money year by year, she said.
 
Forest Management

 
The bill lessens some regulatory work and reduces litigation of forest management activities, often contested because of opposition to particular aspects of logging projects. However, fire prevention and resilience projects 3,000 acres or under that follow the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2014 may be categorically excluded from longer environmental impact analysis. Fire and fuel breaks could qualify for those categorical exclusions. Also, projects to remove hazardous trees affecting power lines also may quality for exclusions from environmental analyses if part of an approved program.

The forest management provisions included in the bill were moderate ones that could win compromises, Clavet said. Republicans have been advocating more ambitious changes with bigger categorical exclusions from lengthy NEPA analyses, but those did not make the final cut for the omnibus.

]]> Wed, 4 Apr 2018 20:54:07 GMT Hurricane Disaster Bill in Senate Includes Stop to Fire-Borrowing https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=362827 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=362827 Disaster Bill also Funds Wildfire Fighting Retroactively for 2017

According to news reports, an agreement passed in the Senate yesterday regarding disaster relief could stop fire-borrowing.

The costs for fire-fighting this year already are above $300 million. The Senate added a provision to a disaster spending bill that will allow the Forest Service and Interior Department to cover the costs of wildfires in 2017.

This agreement would prevent the fire-borrowing that goes on with the Forest Service budget every year, where funds for other forest management are diverted to fighting fires. Any amounts that were transferred from other budget areas to fight fires this year will be restored by the bill.  While only a temporary solution, the bill helps resolve the issue for this year. Congress continues working on a more permanent fix to fire-borrowing.

"When Oregon's skies are glowing orange at night from wildfires and families are forced to evacuate their homes, our state and the West need money to fight these fires now," Wyden said.

The $15.25 billion measure is aimed to provide support to areas hit by Hurricane Harvey, and early assistance to those facing Hurricane Irma, which is anticipated to make landfall in Florida soon. Also this plan provides a short-term debt limit increase to keep the government funded through the rest of 2017. It is scheduled to be voted on today in the House.

Wyden and Merkley plan to continue efforts on a fire budgeting solution, which has been stalled by debates over management of national forests. To end fire-borrowing, the senators support an approach that funds wildfires the way other disasters are funded and provides faster approval for fuels reduction and thinking projects to deter future fires.

]]> Fri, 8 Sep 2017 15:52:39 GMT Tree Species May Need Help in Northern States https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=335431 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=335431 Climate Impact in Minnesota and Wisconsin Affects Tree Species

Trees 'cannot walk,' so people might have to move them

Published: Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Forests in Minnesota and Wisconsin will have a hard time adapting to shifting climate patterns, a study has found.

The Woods Hole Research Center found that balsam fir, quaking aspen and red spruce are particularly vulnerable to climate change. These trees won't be able to survive warming conditions without a helping hand.

"Trees, after all, cannot walk. They must disperse seeds that, in turn, establish, grow and reproduce. The pace of climate change threatens to rapidly overtake this migration, and landscapes fragmented by humans present even more challenges," said Brendan Rogers, lead author of the study.

The study hopes to resolve the debate of whether human intervention is required to save vulnerable tree species in national parks — a policy that the National Park Service has avoided so far. Lee Frelich, director at the Center for Forest Ecology at the University of Minnesota, said that changing this policy would be vital for areas like the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness as temperatures increase.

"We know white pines can handle warmer temperatures because we know they can thrive in southeastern Minnesota. But will we need to move those southern ecotypes north? Or will the Boundary Waters white pines be able to adapt?" he said (John Myers, Pioneer Press, March 11).

]]> Tue, 14 Mar 2017 22:11:16 GMT Chaffetz Pulls Bill to Sell 3.3M Acres of Public Lands https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=329309 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=329309 Sale of Public Lands (H.R. 621) is Withdrawn by Utah's Chaffetz (R):


Based on reports yesterday, Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R) stated that pressures from sportsman groups and others have urged him to pull his legislation that would have disposed of 3.3 million acres of federal lands, introduced last week. He is withdrawing the bill.

House Bill 621 authorized sale of public lands in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Wyoming as well as Utah — where the Congressman is from.  These public lands were listed as appropriate for sale or exchange in a 1997 Interior Department report and they were part of a larger plan to benefit Everglades restoration.

" I hear you and HR 621 dies tomorrow," said Chaffetz in response to pressure. He identified himself as a "proud gun owner" and hunter.

Pressure opposing the bill included a social media campaign led by Backcountry Hunters & Anglers to target his bill. Aaron Kindle, Western sportsmen's campaign manager for the National Wildlife Federation, likewise credited the flood of calls and emails to Chaffetz's office for the bill's demise.

Kindle said, "We hope this decision signals that Rep. Chaffetz and his congressional colleagues are starting to understand how important these lands are to Americans and that they'll cease their efforts to seize them from the public trust."

Kindle went on to suggest that House lawmakers should reverse language included in this session's rules package that allows the House to disregard the cost of a land transfer, as determined by the Congressional Budget Office. The CBO's estimate comes from the loss of revenue from activities like drilling, logging and grazing.

A second bill, H.R. 622, introduced by Chaffetz, has not been withdrawn. This bill seeks to eliminate hundreds of law enforcement positions at the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service in favor of allowing local police to monitor public lands (E&E Daily, Jan. 25).

]]> Fri, 3 Feb 2017 16:41:30 GMT Legislation on Volunteer Trail Crews on Public Lands https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=318273 https://www.nationalforesthomeowners.org/news/news.asp?id=318273 Bill encouraging volunteers to maintain trails goes to Obama

Marc Heller, E&E News reporter

Published: Thursday, November 17, 2016

Bipartisan legislation encouraging the use of volunteers to maintain trails passed the Senate today and is awaiting President Obama's signature.

Conservation and recreation groups praised the legislation, called the "National Forest System Trails Stewardship Act" (H.R. 845). It passed the Senate by unanimous consent.

Chief sponsors of the identical  legislation  in the House and Senate were Reps. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Tim Walz (D-Minn.) and Sens. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.).

The legislation calls for a national strategy on increasing the involvement of volunteers and nongovernmental organizations in trail maintenance, while addressing liability concerns. The legislation specifically seeks to involve fire crews in off-season maintenance, by requiring a study on the use of such crews for trail work.

The Forest Service maintains about one-quarter of the 158,000 miles of agency-owned trails that offer hiking, horseback riding and other activities, Bennet's office reported.

Obama is expected to sign the bill, reported the Wilderness Society, which said the measure would provide more opportunities for people to experience the outdoors.

In other quick Senate action on outdoors measures, the chamber today passed a resolution, S. Res. 608, by voice vote declaring the week of Sept. 17-24, 2016, as National Estuaries Week.]]> Fri, 18 Nov 2016 15:23:08 GMT