ACWA-Supported Forest Act Advances in Senate

WASHINGTON, D.C. -The ACWA-supported S.1462, the Senate version of the Fix Our Forests Act, passed out of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Oct. 21 with a bipartisan vote of 18-5.

1462 was introduced in May by Senator John Curtis (R-UT), Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Senator Tim Sheehy (R-MT) and Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO). Committee passage of S.1462 is an important step in the legislative process.

Earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed its version of the Fix Our Forests Act (H.R. 471) with a strong bipartisan vote. H.R. 471 was co-authored by U.S. Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA) and U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR), who is Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee.

ACWA has aggressively advocated for policies that address catastrophic wildfire issues and improve watershed conditions. ACWA supports both S. 1462 and H.R. 471 and is dedicated to working with bill sponsors to reconcile differences in the bills to ensure forest health and headwaters issues are addressed in a manner that benefits California's water providers.

The Fix Our Forests Act would improve forest management activities and increase wildfire resiliency by: improving federal agency collaboration; authorizing targeted environmental streamlining authorities; providing litigation reform; expanding good neighbor authorities; and investing in research and technology aimed at improving forest health.