This post was originally published on Healthy Forest
As wildfires grow increasingly destructive across the nation, the Fix Our Forests Act (FOFA) takes action to mitigate fire risks in the most vulnerable areas called “firesheds.” This bipartisan legislation defines firesheds and introduces a comprehensive strategy to enhance forest management, streamline wildfire prevention efforts, and protect critical forestry projects from obstructive lawsuits.
What Are Firesheds?
Under FOFA, firesheds are large, landscape-scale areas where wildfire risks are high due to fuel loads, climate conditions, and proximity to communities. The bill specifically identifies and prioritizes the top 20% of firesheds at greatest risk as Fireshed Management Areas, ensuring federal, state, and local efforts focus on reducing wildfire exposure where it matters most.
These areas are determined using data from the Fireshed Registry and the Wildfire Crisis Strategy, considering factors such as wildfire exposure to communities, including risks to homes and critical infrastructure; threats to municipal watersheds that supply drinking water; and the likelihood of forest conversion due to severe wildfires.
How the Fix Our Forests Act Increases Forest Management & Wildfire Risk Reduction
FOFA prioritizes proactive land management within firesheds to reduce fuel loads and lower wildfire risks. Key provisions of the bill include:
- Expanded hazardous fuels management – Allows for mechanical thinning, prescribed burns, timber harvesting, and strategic fuel break construction in Fireshed Management Areas.
- Streamlined environmental reviews – Enables faster approval of urgent wildfire prevention projects by increasing acreage allowances under existing Categorical Exclusions (CEs).
- Interagency Coordination through the Fireshed Center – A new federal office will integrate data, enhance fire behavior prediction models, and unify decision-making across multiple agencies, ensuring a more effective response to wildfire threats.
- Shared Stewardship Agreements – FOFA promotes cross-boundary collaboration between federal, state, and tribal governments, ensuring that land managers work together on fireshed management projects.
By emphasizing science-driven wildfire risk reduction, FOFA ensures that efforts are focused on at-risk communities and critical infrastructure while preserving forest health.
Preventing Frivolous Lawsuits Against Essential Forestry Work
One of the biggest obstacles to effective wildfire mitigation has been legal challenges that delay or block forest management projects. FOFA protects fireshed management efforts from frivolous lawsuits by:
- Limiting injunctions – Courts can only halt a fireshed project if it poses a “proximate and substantial environmental harm” with no alternative remedy available.
- Restricting legal claims – Plaintiffs can no longer derail projects over minor procedural concerns. Instead, if a court finds an issue, it may remand the project back to agencies with a 180-day deadline for correction, allowing essential forestry work to continue in the meantime.
- Preventing endless delays – The bill prohibits courts from setting aside or vacating fireshed management projects unless they meet strict environmental harm criteria.
These legal safeguards ensure that critical wildfire prevention work moves forward swiftly, protecting lives, property, and ecosystems from catastrophic wildfires.
The House of Representatives passed the Fix Our Forests Act in January with bipartisan support, but the Senate has yet to act. We need your voice to urge the Senate to pass this bill without delay and send it to the President’s desk! Please take two minutes to send a message from our web site.
Source: Healthy Forest
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