Bera Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Reduce Catastrophic Wildfire Risk

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Representative Ami Bera, M.D. (D-CA-06) helped introduce the bipartisan Wildfire Reduction Market Expansion Act alongside Representative Cliff Bentz (R-OR-02). The legislation would help reduce wildfire risk by creating new markets for low-value woody material removed through forest management, hazardous fuels reduction, ecological restoration, and defensible-space projects.

"Communities across Northern California live under the constant threat of catastrophic wildfires," said Representative Bera. "We need to do more to prevent fires by reducing hazardous fuels and improving the health of our forests. This bipartisan legislation would create a market for branches, brush, and other vegetation removed through wildfire prevention projects, helping make this critical work more affordable while supporting jobs and domestic renewable fuel production."

Every year, forest thinning and wildfire prevention projects generate millions of tons of low-value woody material that often has nowhere to go and results in mass amounts of kindling for possible fires. The cost of transporting and disposing of this material can make projects more expensive and limit how much forestland can be treated.

The Wildfire Reduction Market Expansion Act would allow more of this material to qualify for use in renewable fuel production. This includes material removed through forest thinning, hazardous fuels reduction, ecological restoration, and defensible-space work around homes, businesses, public facilities, and critical infrastructure.

Creating new markets for this material would help offset the cost of wildfire prevention projects and give land managers, Tribes, local governments, and private landowners another tool to reduce dangerous fuel buildup before disaster strikes.

The Wildfire Reduction Market Expansion Act is the House companion to bipartisan legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS).

Read the full text of the legislation here.

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