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ClimateQuiet 12d · day 14

Congress nears passage of Fix Our Forests Act as environmentalists split

Bipartisan wildfire bill divides conservation groups over forest management strategy.

newest coverage 11d agosummary written 12d ago5 pieces12 likes & upvotes NewswiresBluesky

What to know

  • Congress is poised to pass the Fix Our Forests Act, bipartisan legislation that would streamline forest management on public and tribal lands by reducing environmental review and litigation.
  • The bill has split environmentalists: groups like The Nature Conservancy support it as essential to combat record-breaking wildfires, while the Sierra Club and others fear it will allow excessive logging.
  • In House voting, roughly half of Western Democrats supported it versus a quarter of non-Western Democrats, with Republicans voting overwhelmingly in favor.
  • The bill now awaits a final Senate vote before Congress's Jan. 3, 2027 deadline.

“We do advocacy at a twofold level. We are doing defensive work to fight back against bad things, and we're also trying to promote the good things that are happening on the ground.”

Morgan Cashwell, North America director of legislative affairs, The Nature Conservancy · LA Times ↗ · Sep 9

Rep. Bruce Westerman Sponsor (R-Ark.), former foresterRep. Scott Peters Co-sponsor (D-San Diego)Sen. Alex Padilla Co-introducer (D-Calif.), Senate versionSierra Club Environmental group opposing the billThe Nature Conservancy Environmental group supporting the bill

How it unfolded 3 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 2 pieces in 4h at Sep 10, 5 AM; 5 pieces over 14 days (2 articles · 3 posts) Sep 10, 5 AM — 2 pieces · 1 article · 1 post — Newswires 1, Bluesky 1Sep 10, 9 AM — quietSep 10, 1 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Bluesky 1Sep 10, 5 PM — quietSep 10, 9 PM — quietSep 11, 1 AM — quietSep 11, 5 AM — quietSep 11, 9 AM — quietSep 11, 1 PM — quietSep 11, 5 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 11, 9 PM — quietSep 12, 1 AM — quietSep 12, 5 AM — quietSep 12, 9 AM — quietSep 12, 1 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Bluesky 1Sep 12, 5 PM — quietSep 12, 9 PM — quietSep 13, 1 AM — quietSep 13, 5 AM — quietSep 13, 9 AM — quietSep 13, 1 PM — quietSep 13, 5 PM — quietSep 13, 9 PM — quietSep 14, 1 AM — quietSep 14, 5 AM — quietSep 14, 9 AM — quietSep 14, 1 PM — quietSep 14, 5 PM — quietSep 14, 9 PM — quietSep 15, 1 AM — quietSep 15, 5 AM — quietSep 15, 9 AM — quietSep 15, 1 PM — quietSep 15, 5 PM — quietSep 15, 9 PM — quietSep 16, 1 AM — quietSep 16, 5 AM — quietSep 16, 9 AM — quietSep 16, 1 PM — quietSep 16, 5 PM — quietSep 16, 9 PM — quietSep 17, 1 AM — quietSep 17, 5 AM — quietSep 17, 9 AM — quietSep 17, 1 PM — quietSep 17, 5 PM — quietSep 17, 9 PM — quietSep 18, 1 AM — quietSep 18, 5 AM — quietSep 18, 9 AM — quietSep 18, 1 PM — quietSep 18, 5 PM — quietSep 18, 9 PM — quietSep 19, 1 AM — quietSep 19, 5 AM — quietSep 19, 9 AM — quietSep 19, 1 PM — quietSep 19, 5 PM — quietSep 19, 9 PM — quietSep 20, 1 AM — quietSep 20, 5 AM — quietSep 20, 9 AM — quietSep 20, 1 PM — quietSep 20, 5 PM — quietSep 20, 9 PM — quietSep 21, 1 AM — quietSep 21, 5 AM — quietSep 21, 9 AM — quietSep 21, 1 PM — quietSep 21, 5 PM — quietSep 21, 9 PM — quietSep 22, 1 AM — quietSep 22, 5 AM — quietSep 22, 9 AM — quietSep 22, 1 PM — quietSep 22, 5 PM — quietSep 22, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietToday, 1 AM — quietToday, 5 AM — quiet 1–3
Sep 11Sep 12Sep 13Sep 14Sep 15Sep 16Sep 17Sep 18Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22now · 6:44 AM ET
  1. 3

    Origins of bipartisan alliance trace to chance plane encounter

    Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), a former forester, initiated the bill's path after sitting next to Rep. Scott Peters (D-San Diego) on a plane and pitching him on protecting giant sequoias from worsening wildfires. Their initial Save Our Sequoias Act expanded into the broader Fix Our Forests Act.

  2. 1

    Environmental groups split over forest intervention strategy

    The bill has divided the traditional Democratic coalition on conservation. The Nature Conservancy and allied groups support it to address the escalating wildfire crisis, while the Sierra Club and Center for Biological Diversity oppose it, fearing reduced environmental review will enable heavy logging masked as thinning.

    “It's really handing the keys to the Trump administration to be able to push forward a lot of their timber agenda.”
    — Anna Medema
  3. 2

    Fix Our Forests Act nears final Senate vote with bipartisan support

    Congress moved forward on legislation that would accelerate forest management projects on public and tribal lands by streamlining environmental review and legal processes. The bill has passed the House with support from roughly half of Western Democrats and overwhelming Republican support, and now awaits a final Senate vote before the Jan. 3, 2027 deadline.

    “Wildfires today are very different than wildfires from a generation ago. Oftentimes, they're irreversibly devastating ecosystems and watersheds.”
    — Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 2 outlets With support from loggers and (some) environmentalists, Congress unites on major wildfire bill

    first by Mercury News, 12d ago · also LA Times