On December 12, the Co-Chairs of the bipartisan Indiana Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus sent a letter supporting the Emergency Fuel Reduction Act of 2017 (S. 1752) to Indiana Senator Joe Donnelly, a member of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus.
The bill, S. 1752, hopes to expedite wildfire prevention projects, and improve forest and wildland health, which in turn benefits wildlife populations, and promotes the recovery of threatened or endangered species habitat that is negatively impacted by wildfires. While large wildfires are most common in Western states, Eastern states are increasingly susceptible to wildfires. Reducing catastrophic wildfire on federal lands is a concern for all citizens as millions of federal dollars are spent every year fighting wildfires and restoring affected landscapes.
Fire prevention efforts have proven to be effective and cost-efficient. The Emergency Fuel Reduction Act is designed to reduce fuel loads by streamlining vegetation management projects on fire-prone lands. Stressed, insect-affected or diseased forests are at a higher risk of wildfires than forests treated by professional foresters.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed similar legislation, the Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017 (H.R. 2936), on November 1. This Act would reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfires and improve the health of our federal forests if enacted into law.
The Indiana Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus will be discussing this issue and others impacting the state’s sportsmen and woman at their upcoming caucus reception and dinner in Indianapolis on Tuesday, January 16. For more information on this event, please contact CSF’s Joel Hodgdon at (202) 253-6883 or jhodgdon@congressionalsportsmen.org.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
