The Boone and Crockett Club commends today’s action by the Senate Agriculture Committee to pass the Fix Our Forests Act (S.1462), introduced by Sens. John Curtis (R-UT), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), and Alex Padilla (D-CA), by a bipartisan vote of 18-5. The following is a statement by Boone and Crockett Club chief executive officer Tony A. Schoonen.

“The Boone and Crockett Club applauds the bipartisan passage of the Fix Our Forests Act out of the Senate Agriculture Committee today and supports swift passage by the full Senate. This legislation would allow the Forest Service to accelerate active forest management on our national forests—reducing the risk of severe wildfires, improving big game habitat, and creating jobs in rural communities. Active forest management such as harvesting trees, thinning dead and dying trees, creating fuel breaks, prescribed and managed burns, and creating defensible spaces are all effective tools to reduce wildfire threats and improve wildlife habitat.

“The Boone and Crockett Club has a long history with wildland forest management. In the early 1900s, we worked to develop and pass legislation that created the National Forest System and the U.S. Forest Service to manage these forests. This has continued into the 21st century, working with Congress and federal land management agencies to create new tools—including the creation of Good Neighbor Authority, speeding up project review, and fighting frivolous litigation—so that the Forest Service and its partners can get to work improving our forests and preventing catastrophic wildfire.”