Washington, D.C. – As the Trump Administration illegally cuts and withholds funding for wildfire mitigation projects, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Val Hoyle (OR-04) teamed up to introduce the Ley de comunidades resilientes a los incendios forestales in Congress. This legislation would provide dedicated federal support to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires in Oregon and across the West, while also empowering communities to prepare for wildfires.
“You can’t get ready after the fire starts,” dijo Merkley. “Our bill would ensure communities can seize every moment to prepare for and mitigate wildfires by supercharging investments in critical hazardous fuels projects. Increasingly extreme wildfire seasons fueled by climate chaos are not cooling down anytime soon, and we need a considerable increase in federal resources—not cuts—to make our forests, timber economies, and communities healthier and more resilient.”
“I’m proud to join Senator Merkley in introducing this bill to reduce wildfire risk and strengthen forest-dependent communities,” dijo Hoyle. “Year after year, wildfires have devastated our towns, economies, and forests. This legislation invests in prevention, resilience, and local jobs—because protecting our communities shouldn’t stop at putting out fires. It starts with smart, proactive stewardship, and that’s exactly what this bill delivers.”
Merkley and Hoyle’s Ley de comunidades resilientes a los incendios forestales would double down on essential efforts to boost wildfire preparedness by creating a $30 billion fund to allow the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and other land management agencies to increase catastrophic wildfire reduction projects; reauthorize and triple funding up to $3 billion for the Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program; permanently reauthorize the Programa Colaborativo de Restauración del Paisaje Forestal (CFLR), which is critical for the five collaboratives in Oregon; and create a County Stewardship Fund that would provide payments to counties for stewardship contracts on federal land.
As Ranking Member of the Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, which oversees funding for federal land management agencies, Merkley has been leading the charge to sound the alarm over federal funding freezes and cuts to critical wildfire mitigation work ahead of another extreme wildfire season, leading a series of actions to demand the Trump Administration restore funding for critical projects y reverse course on reckless reorganization efforts.
El Ley de comunidades resilientes a los incendios forestales is cosponsored by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Adam Schiff (D-CA).
The bicameral bill is endorsed by Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, Sustainable Northwest, Silvix Resources, and Lomakatsi Restoration Project.
"El sur de Oregón se ha visto muy afectado por los impactos económicos y de salud del humo y los incendios". dijo Pam Marsh, Representante del Estado de Oregon, Distrito 5 de la Cámara de Representantes. “Senator Merkley’s legislation will help us jumpstart the collaborative forest projects that will protect our communities, while rewarding counties for their support of stewardship agreements. This is how we’ll start the work that will help us respond to changing conditions.”
"El Ley de comunidades resilientes a los incendios forestales supports the critical fuels reduction work that is being done in our communities,” dijo Paul Anderes, presidente de la Junta de Comisionados del Condado de Union. "Este proyecto de ley ampliará el progreso que se ha logrado en tantos paisajes para hacer que nuestras comunidades propensas a los incendios sean más seguras".
“Through focused investments in forest restoration and community protection we can prepare our communities and landscapes for wildfires,” said Michael Dotson, Executive Director of Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center. “Nuestros bosques estaban mejor adaptados al fuego antes de que taláramos tantos árboles grandes y resistentes al fuego. Reemplazamos demasiados de nuestros bosques antiguos con bosques inflamables de segundo crecimiento. Necesitamos financiar el tipo de trabajo que pueda restaurar nuestros bosques y ayudar a construir paisajes y comunidades más resilientes al fuego y al clima, y el proyecto de ley del senador Merkley nos ayudaría a lograrlo”.
“The need for increased investment in our federal forests and rural communities has never been more urgent,” said Dylan Kruse, President at Sustainable Northwest. “We can’t afford to keep playing catch up. This bill takes immediate action to address the massive management backlog on our forests, and expands effective programs to prepare for the future. We commend Senator Merkley for his bipartisan leadership and introducing legislation that will make a real difference with resources that meet the scale of need.”
“Senator Merkley is to be commended for reintroduction of the Ley de comunidades resilientes a los incendios forestales, which will provide important funding for community preparedness and wildfire risk reduction on federal lands, in addition to reauthorizing the phenomenally successful Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program and providing the funding necessary to continue this important forest health work,” dijo Susan Jane Brown, directora de Silvix Resources.
“Bajo el liderazgo del Senador Merkley, esta Ley proporcionaría financiamiento a largo plazo muy necesario para estrategias colaborativas con base científica para reducir el riesgo de incendios forestales y al mismo tiempo aumentar la salud de los bosques y apoyar las economías locales. Eleva la silvicultura basada en la administración, un enfoque de restauración centrado en la ecología que Lomakatsi ha defendido y utilizado durante dos décadas para desarrollar la resiliencia de los ecosistemas y las comunidades en todo el paisaje, con socios de agencias, tribales y sin fines de lucro, en estrecha coordinación con las comunidades. servimos," dijo Marko Bey, Director Ejecutivo, Proyecto de Restauración Lomakatsi.
Texto completo de la Ley de comunidades resilientes a los incendios forestales can be found by clicking aquí.
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