Hickenlooper Cheers Committee Passage of Bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act

One of the most significant steps forward in federal wildfire policy in recent decades streamlines processes to protect communities while restoring forest health and providing for public input

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper, John Curtis, Alex Padilla, and Tim Sheehy applauded the advancement of their bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act through the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, setting the pivotal legislation up for a vote by the full Senate. The legislation received broad bipartisan support in committee, including from the majority of committee Democrats and the Ranking Member.

The Fix Our Forests Act works to strengthen wildfire resilience by improving forest management, supporting fire-safe communities, and streamlining approvals for projects that protect communities and ecosystems from extreme wildfires. The legislation is supported by Colorado Governor Jared Polis, the Western Governors' Association, Environmental Defense Fund, The Nature Conservancy, Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Colorado State Forest Service, Fire Chiefs from Colorado Mountain Communities, and a wide-ranging coalition of bipartisan Western officials, environmental organizations, water managers, Colorado entities, and more.

"There is a wildfire crisis across much of the country - our communities need action now," said Hickenlooper. "Wildfires won't wait. After bipartisan committee passage, the next step is a full Senate vote. The Fix Our Forests Act will make our communities and environment more resilient."

"In Utah and across the West, we face a growing crisis of overgrown, unhealthy forests. Thanks to the cooperation of both parties, we are confronting the challenge head-on and now one step closer to passing legislation that will deliver essential tools to combat wildfires, restore forest ecosystems, and make federal forest management more efficient and responsive. I commend the Committee's action and look forward to the bill's swift passage by the full Senate," said Curtis.

"The status quo around wildfires isn't working and far too many Americans have paid the price," said Padilla. "The families I've met who have lost everything to the devastation in Los Angeles and in wildfire disasters across the country deserve action. That's why we're coming together to confront this crisis and rethink how we prevent and respond. Today's advancement of our bipartisan bill is real progress toward protecting Americans and our environment through forward-thinking, practical wildfire solutions."

"Better stewardship of our forests is not a partisan issue; it's an imperative to securing a stronger economy, healthier forests, and safer communities. I'm proud to see the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act move forward in the legislative process, and I'll continue fighting alongside my colleagues to enact commonsense reforms that ensure proper forest management, unleash the resource economy, and protect American communities from the threat of wildfire," said Sheehy.

The comprehensive bill reflects months of bipartisan negotiations to find consensus on how to accelerate forest management projects, promote safe and responsible prescribed fire treatments, expand public input in assessments of wildfire resilience needs, and enhance collaboration between federal agencies, states, tribes, and stakeholders. The legislation received a hearing in the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry in May.

The bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act is supported by: Colorado Governor Jared Polis; California Governor Gavin Newsom; Utah Governor Spencer Cox; Montana Governor Greg Gianforte; Western Governors' Association; Southern Ute Indian Tribe; Colorado Department of Natural Resources; Colorado State Forest Service; American Property Casualty Insurance Association; California Natural Resources Agency; Climate and Wildfire Institute; Utah Farm Bureau Federation; The Nature Conservancy; Association for Firetech Innovation and Convective Capital; Federation of American Scientists; National Audubon Society; Berkshire Hathaway Energy; Arnold Ventures; Utah Department of Natural Resources; The Property and Environment Research Center (PERC); Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership; National Wild Turkey Federation; National Wildlife Federation; Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions; American Forests; Colorado Rural Electric Association; Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation; Western Governors' Association; National Association of State Departments of Agriculture; National Association of State Foresters; United Power; Rocky Mountain Elk; Citizen' Climate Lobby; Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control; Bipartisan Policy Center Action; International Association of Fire Chiefs; Alliance for Wildfire Resilience; Wildfire Alliance; Tall Timbers; Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition; The Stewardship Project; Megafire Action; California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection; Hispanics Enjoy Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors; Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society; State of Utah; Environmental Defense Fund; Rural County Representatives of California; Salesforce; Central Valley Water Reclamation Facility; C2ES; U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Colorado State Fire Chiefs Wildland Section; Colorado Water Congress; National Water Resources Association; Trout Unlimited; Denver Water; Greeley Water Utilities; Colorado River District; Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District; Southwestern Water Conservation District, Tri-State Generation and Transmission, Inc; and the National Rural Electric Co-Op Association.

For a full list of all quotes from supportive parties, click HERE. For a Fix Our Forests Act support book, click HERE.

BACKGROUND:

The West has long been prone to wildfires, but climate change, prolonged drought, and the buildup of dry fuels have increasingly intensified these fires and extended fire seasons. Wildfires today are more catastrophic - growing larger, spreading faster, and burning more land than ever before.

Colorado has seen four of the five largest fires in our state's history since 2020, including this summer's Lee Fire. The 2021 Marshall fire was Colorado's most destructive on record, burning over 1,000 homes. The Cameron Peak and East Troublesome fires in 2020 together burned more than 400,000 acres, the two largest fires in the state's history. Nationwide, total acres burned rose from 2.7 million in 2023 to nearly 9 million in 2024, a 231% increase.

Forest health challenges are also increasing in frequency and severity due to climate stressors like drought and fire, and biological threats like invasive species - all of which the West is particularly vulnerable to. From 2001 to 2019, total U.S. forest area declined by 2.3%, with the Intermountain West experiencing the largest losses by area.

To address these challenges, the Fix Our Forests Act would:

• Establish new and updated programs to reduce wildfire risks across large, high-priority "firesheds," with an emphasis on cross-boundary collaboration.
  
• Streamline and expand tools for forest health projects (e.g., stewardship contracting, Good Neighbor Agreements) and provide faster approvals for certain hazardous fuels treatments.
  
• Create a single interagency program to help communities in the wildland-urban interface build and retrofit with wildfire-resistant measures, while simplifying and consolidating grant applications.
  
• Boost reforestation with the inclusion of Hickenlooper's Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources (RNGR) Support Act to support reforestation capacity of state, tribal, and private nurseries.
  
• Strengthen coordination efforts across agencies through a new Wildfire Intelligence Center with the inclusion of Hickenlooper's bipartisan Wildfire Intelligence Collaboration and Coordination Act of 2025, which would streamline federal response and create a whole-of-government approach to combating wildfires.
  
• Support prescribed fire activities on both federal and non-federal lands - prioritizing large, cross-boundary projects, strengthening the prescribed fire workforce, and facilitating coordination on air quality protections.
  
• Expand research and demonstration initiatives - including biochar projects and the Community Wildfire Defense Research Program - to test and deploy cutting-edge wildfire prevention, detection, and mitigation technologies.
  
• Enable watershed protection and restoration projects to include adjacent non-federal lands; establish new programs for white oak restoration; and clarify policies regarding wildfire-related litigation.

A one-pager on the legislation can be found here.

The Fix Our Forests Act was originally introduced in the House of Representatives by Representatives Bruce Westerman and Scott Peters.

Hickenlooper has been an active supporter of wildfire resilience, including sponsorship of legislation to restore land management agency staffing and pushback on the firings of the federal employees that support wildfire resilience on our public lands. The Fix Our Forests Act provides the tools necessary to accelerate wildfire resilience, which will work alongside Hickenlooper's sustained efforts for the funding and staffing necessary for land management efforts.

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