Legislative Background
Recent Action on Forest Thinning Legislation
Congress historically has addressed wildfire protection through annual agency appropriations for wildfire management. Following the 2000 wildfire season, the worst in 50 years, lawmakers appropriated $240 million for a "fuels reduction" program that allowed the Bureau of Land Management to bypass Federal procurement laws and expedite environmental reviews, but stipulated that they could not override any environmental laws. The program was part of the development — by Congress and the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior — of the National Fire Plan, a long-term, multibillion-dollar effort to respond to severe wildland fires and reduce their impact on communities. Bush Administration Proposal….
