AFBF Supports Emergency Wildfire and Public Safety Act

The American Farm Bureau Federation wants Congress to give federal land management agencies additional tools and resources to prevent and recover from catastrophic wildfires.

AFBF and 13 state Farm Bureaus, including Washington, Oregon and Idaho, sent a letter Wednesday to Senate leadership supporting the Emergency Wildfire and Public Safety Act of 2020. The Farm Bureaus say the bipartisan legislation will expedite forest management, accelerate post-fire restoration and reforestation, and remove dead and dangerous wood from national forests.

This year alone, millions of acres have burned, and thousands of buildings have been lost by wildfires in the westerns United States.

The letter states, “Backlogs in adequate management coupled with drier, hotter conditions, have resulted in unhealthy, overly dense forests.” While the legislation will help mitigate future fires, AFBF said it will not address the immediate needs of farmers and ranchers suffering devastating losses from fires burning right now.

Click Here to read Farm Bureau letter.

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