On Wednesday, Senators Dianne Feinstein and Steve Daines (R-Montana) introduced the Emergency Wildfire and Public Safety Act. This legislation would help protect communities from catastrophic wildfires by implementing wildfire mitigation projects, sustaining healthier forests that are more resilient to climate change and providing important energy and retrofitting assistance to businesses and residences to mitigate future risks from wildfire. The House companion bill is being led by Representative Jimmy Panetta (D-Monterey).
RCRC has sent a letter endorsing the legislation, stating that it will help alleviate and offset some of the costs associated with forest management and aid California in reducing its carbon emissions by encouraging utilization and sequestration of woody byproducts that currently are being piled and burned or otherwise left to contribute to the state’s greenhouse gas inventory. The legislation will also ultimately serve to help California with its long-term fuels treatment goals, which is desperately needed to reduce the frequency and severity of catastrophic wildfires that have become a normal occurrence throughout the state.