The Farm bill has already been passed in the House and is now in the Senate for negotiations.
Some of the reforms Rep. Walden is calling for include expanding the amount of land the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Services have authority for. He also is pushing for a way to restore wildlife in a timely manner after a fire has burned through.
“Years of poor management or lack of management have resulted in overgrown, over stocked forests that are often way beyond the fuel loads that would normally and naturally be there.” Rep. Walden said.
But he’s not the only one pushing for forest management reform, Oregon Senators are also getting involved.
Senator Jeff Merkley said on Thursday, that he was working towards increasing funding for the farm bill.
Rep. Walden said that if these reforms became law, they would reduce the fires by up to 70 percent.
“We shouldn’t have this, we need to fix this not only for now but for the next generation and be able to get in and do the work across the forest at least that are long over due,” Rep. Walden said.
Congress will be negotiating the provisions in the coming weeks.
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