Senate bill would require federal agencies to do more fire prevention

SALEM, Ore. – The state Senate passing a bill that would require an increased partnership with state and federal agencies to maintain forest land.

Senate Bill 872, co-sponsored by Grants Pass state representative Lily Morgan, details how the Oregon Department of Forestry would need to work with federal agencies to expand wildfire prevention tactics.

That includes forest thinning, reducing hazardous fuels, an increase to post-wildfire restoration efforts and more.

Morgan said this bill is important to help reduce fire risk on federal land.

“Learning more about fire that I ever thought I could possibly know having grown up in Southern Oregon,” Morgan said. “The majority of our fires are man-made, but the majority of mega fires are a result of the lack of management on our federal lands.”

The bill states federal agencies have to fund portions of fire risk mitigation on government lands.

It passed unanimously in the Senate and heads to the House for discussion.