The misleadingly named ‘Fix Our Forests Act’ would do anything but
When bad things are happening, we naturally feel a strong urge to do something, anything, in response. Unfortunately, if we fail to think through our panicky response, we may end up making things worse, like airline passengers who respond to in-flight emergencies by trying to open cabin doors in mid-air.
A legitimately serious problem in this country is the increasing frequency and severity of wildfires. Climate change has helped dry out forests so that many fires now spread rapidly. Misguided forest management practices also have played a role: by rapidly extinguishing relatively benign natural fires that periodically thin out the underbrush, and by clear-cutting fire-resistant old-growth forests, we have set the stage for the far more destructive fires we see today.
Unfortunately, some in Congress are proposing responses that would only make the wildfire crisis worse. In particular, H.R. 8790, the misleadingly titled “Fix Our Forests Act,” would pave the way for even more ill-informed and counterproductive mismanagement of our forests.
Sponsored by Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), the bill’s most significant feature is its sweeping rejection of applying the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to forestry management. This sounds strange on its face, and it is: if forest management does not raise important environmental concerns, what would? But it turns out to be even worse than you would think.
NEPA’s function is to promote informed decision-making by requiring that the federal government look before it leaps. It does not mandate or prohibit any projects; it simply requires that a project’s likely effects be assessed before it is approved. This is the essence of good government. We could use some similar look-before-you-leap requirements for other areas of government: international engagements, economic policies, foreign trade rules and so forth.
NEPA is anything but the rigid, impenetrable barrier its critics suggest. Numerous expedited NEPA procedures exist, and Congress has promulgated dozens of “categorical exclusions” that exempt some types of projects from detailed environmental review based on the high priority of the project or the low likelihood of serious environmental problems.
The “Fix Our Forests Act,” however, effectively rejects environmental review altogether across hundreds of thousands of acres. Although some categories of forestry projects may raise fewer environmental concerns, as reflected in the existing “categorical exclusions,” it is absurd to say that all forestry projects are environmentally benign. We need look no further than the current wave of wildfires to see just how destructive ill-considered forest management can be.
So what might happen if we stop considering the environmental effects of our forestry policies before we act? Unsurprisingly, the timber companies’ friends in Congress think the solution to any forestry problem is to clear-cut. They argue that if the trees are gone, they cannot burn. But reality is more complicated. Highly flammable small trees and brush grow back quickly, ready to magnify a small fire into a large one.
Moreover, in the absence of the competent scientific guidance that the NEPA process provides about how to improve our forests’ health, agencies will adopt ad hoc measures of their performance to try to show “progress.” These measures may have nothing to do with actually solving the wildfire problem, but they allow everyone to claim they are “doing something.”
For the Forest Service, the easiest such measure is the number of acres “treated” in some way. The quickest and cheapest “treatment” is letting the timber companies clear-cut the forest. So to allow the Forest Service to brag to Congress that it is “doing something,” it will invite the needless destruction of ever more of our forests — while simultaneously making the fire threat even worse.
This is precisely the kind of disastrous unintended consequence that has plagued American forestry policy for decades. Stripping away environmental reviews would all but ensure that we repeat this kind of blunder. If the guardians of public forests hear only the self-interested siren songs of the loggers, with no objective scientific input providing balance, the outcome will be all too predictable.
We absolutely should take action to address ruinous wildfires. But we need to be much smarter than the meat-cleaver approach of the “Fix Our Forests Act.” Part of the answer is to adequately fund, staff and train Forest Service personnel to quickly review, analyze and authorize needed forest restoration projects based on the best available science. The Biden administration reports that innovations of this kind have cut average review times six months, an unprecedented reduction. The cost of continuing and expanding these practical but unglamorous reforms is remarkably modest compared to the devastation — including increased fire risks — that H.R. 8790’s tsunami of ill-considered logging would bring.
The careful work of landing the airplane is far less dramatic than opening a cabin door at 30,000 feet, but it is the only way to achieve what we need.
David Super teaches at Georgetown Law.
Date: |
-
CBS Sports - Sports
Antonio Pierce says 'we've got to fix the Raiders' despite win over Ravens; here's how they can do it
Las Vegas earned a comeback victory, but Pierce said there's still a lot to work onYesterday -
Yahoo News - World
We still don’t know how the Lebanon pager attack happened. Here’s what we do know about our own electronic devices
13 hours ago -
MarketWatch - Business
‘He has never paid rent or utilities:’ Do I have the legal and moral authority to charge my brother rent to live in our family home?
‘My brother has been living there while my father was alive — and still is. He did not pay any rent or utilities’1 hour ago -
Financial Times - World
Want to fix UK prisons? Let the women out
Imprisonment is not obviously a good solution to drug addiction or for those who have been coerced into crime2 days ago - United Kingdom -
Yahoo Sports - Sports
Lane Kiffin slams Wake Forest for violating 'unwritten rule'
Wake Forest suddenly canceled the back half of a home-and-home series with Ole Miss that was scheduled for next season.Yesterday -
BBC News - Top stories
Maybe our opinion doesn't matter - Alisson
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker says players are not being listened to about workloads and that maybe their "opinions don't matter".2 days ago -
The New York Times - Top stories
Our Reporter on Trump and a New Era of Political Violence
The latest apparent assassination attempt against Donald J. Trump indicates how much the American political landscape has been shaped by anger stirred by Mr. Trump and against him. Peter Baker, ...Yesterday - Donald Trump -
The Hill - Politics
Our presidential candidates are shamefully silent on the fentanyl crisis
Fentanyl was only briefly mentioned in last week’s presidential debate, and then only in the context of the border crisis.Yesterday -
BBC News - Top stories
MrBeast and Amazon named in legal action over Beast Games
The Amazon series offered 1,000 participants the chance to win a cash prize of $5m.17 hours ago
More from The Hill
-
The Hill - Politics
US has worst healthcare system among wealthy nations, survey says
The United States healthcare system was deemed the worst overall in a new analysis of 10 similar nations by a leading health research nonprofit. "Mirror, Mirror 2024: A Portrait of the Failing ...3 hours ago -
The Hill - Politics
Marist polls: Harris leads Trump in Michigan, Wisconsin; they're tied in Pennsylvania
Vice President Kamala Harris is leading former President Donald Trump by 5 points in Michigan, is leading slightly in Wisconsin, and is tied in Pennsylvania, according to new Marist battleground ...3 hours ago - Donald Trump -
The Hill - Politics
These 3 Dems, 14 Republicans crossed aisle on funding bill vote
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) government funding bill was sunk through the combined efforts of Democrats and Republicans in the lower chamber on Wednesday. Fourteen members of Johnson’s own ...4 hours ago - Republican Party -
The Hill - Politics
Trump vows to travel to Springfield following false pet-eating claims
Former President Trump pledged to travel to Springfield, Ohio, after false claims that he and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), have made about Haitian immigrants eating pets in the city. ...6 hours ago - Donald Trump -
The Hill - Politics
Republican Arizona county chair endorses Democrat to replace him
The Republican chair of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in Arizona has endorsed a Democrat to replace him. "I am endorsing Joel [Navarro] because he is a man of integrity, because he is a ...7 hours ago