Paul Gosar Emphasizes The Importance Of Forest Management To Combat The ‘Catastrophic Wildfire Crisis’

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During a House Natural Resources Committee hearing before the congressional recess, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) spoke about implementing effective and science-backed forest management strategies.

Transcript

00:00Investigations will now come to order. Without objections, the chair is authorized to declare

00:07recess to the subcommittee at any time. The subcommittee is meeting today to hear testimony

00:12on Fix Our Forest, how improved land management can protect communities in the wildland urban

00:18interface. Under committee rule 4F, any oral opening statement at the hearing are limited

00:23to the chairman and the ranking member. I therefore ask unanimous consent that all the

00:28other members' statements be made part of the hearing record if they are submitted in

00:31accordance with Committee Rule 3-0 without objection so ordered. I ask unanimous consent that the

00:38following members be allowed to sit and participate in today's hearing. The gentleman from Wisconsin,

00:44Mr. Tiffany. The gentleman from Idaho, Mr. Fulcher. The gentleman from Wyoming, Ms. Hagam. The

00:50gentleman from Utah, Mr. Kennedy. The gentleman from Arizona, Mr. Crane. The gentleman from

00:54California, Mr. Fong. The gentleman from California, Ms. Kim. The gentleman from California, Mr.

01:00Calvert. Without objection so ordered. I recognize the full committee. Is Bruce going to speak?

01:07Okay. I'll never recognize myself for my opening statement. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for

01:18our witnesses who came today to testify on this important issue on Fix Our Forest, how improved land

01:23management can protect communities in the wildland-urban interface. The Committee on Natural Resources

01:30and I have worked tirelessly to emphasize and combat the catastrophic wildfire crisis in the United

01:35States. I have long advocated for implementing sound science-backed forest management policies,

01:41putting people back to work in our national forests, encouraging coordination between federal,

01:46state, and private entities related to managing our forest, and to improve public safety,

01:51especially in the wildland-urban interface. I will never forget the Yarnell Hill Fire, which

01:57tragically took the lives of 19 Granite Mountain hotshot firefighters and remains Arizona's deadliest

02:04wildfire. The Yarnell Fire ignited on federal BLM before burning more than 8,300 acres and destroying

02:11almost 100 homes in nearby neighborhoods. The public memorial I hosted brought together more than 1,200 members

02:18of the community, and the sacrifice that each firefighter who was taken from us all too soon has undoubtedly

02:24stayed with all of us. We must not allow these tragedies that wildfires bring to wildland-urban

02:30interface communities to continue. The relationship between forest management and the wildfire crisis

02:35is clear. Across the U.S., more than 1 billion acres of land are at risk of being consumed by wildfire.

02:42Of those, approximately 117 million acres owned by the federal government has been identified

02:47as high or very high risk of burning. And over the last 20 years, wildfires in the United States

02:54have burned an average of 7 million acres per year. In 2024, 9 million, almost 9 million

03:00acres burned. These numbers have multiplied significantly, even those from seen as recently

03:08as the early 2000s. And the reason why is not difficult to understand. Across the country,

03:13our nation's forests are loaded with dangerous dry fuels and have been not managed through the thinning,

03:19prescribed burns, and mechanized treatments. Hundreds of years ago, forests in the United States

03:24held about 64 acres per acre. Now in many places, those same forests hold upwards of 300 trees per acre,

03:32allowing extreme environments to lock up our forests and make forests less resilient by increasing

03:37competition among trees and other vegetation for water, minerals, and sunlight, crucial to sustain

03:42forest health. To be clear, the catastrophic wildfire crisis does not only impact our forests.

03:47This crisis poses perhaps the most significant threat to communities situated in the wildland-urban

03:52interface. Wildfires cost between $394 billion and $893 billion every year. These costs include

04:01property damage, lost income, contamination of water resources, timber loss, and more.

04:07Worse yet, these impacted home and business owners face significant challenge getting and keeping

04:12property insurance that covers losses due to wildfire. We'll talk about that today. As costs for both

04:18property owners and insurance carriers balloon, some carriers cannot insure high-risk communities or

04:24properties. And those people who cannot obtain or can't attain insurance to find their rates are

04:29astronomically increased. So they are under-insured when they are unfortunately must file a claim

04:35after experiencing a wildfire loss. Only by putting out the fire that is a more than century-long campaign

04:41by preservation activists who do not understand forest management can we reduce the impact of wildfires

04:48and allow our forests to thrive. In fact, evidence of sound management policies working can be seen in my

04:54home state of Arizona. For example, in 2024 alone, the 4 Forest Restoration Initiative, which is a

05:02collaborative effort between federal, state, and local stakeholders, has successfully treated more

05:06than 200,000 acres with beneficial fire and thinning. The project has not only helped lessen the

05:13impacts of catastrophic fire, but also simultaneously boosted forest and watershed health and helped

05:19sustain Arizona's timber industry. Together, we must do more to unlock these projects in other parts

05:25of Arizona and across the country. In 2013, I championed the Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention Act, which

05:31served as it to revamp the federal government's ability to partner with private industry and state

05:36foresters to manage and restore our wildlands and to cut the bureaucratic red tape that too often blocks and

05:43implementing sound policy decisions. This year, I proudly voted alongside many of my colleagues on both

05:48sides of the aisle to pass the Fix Our Forest Act, which, among other things, streamlines the

05:53permitting process for critical forest management projects, continues to foster relationships among

05:58federal, state, tribal, and local entities, and ends fervorless litigation that stands in the way of

06:03making communities in the wildline-urban interface more resilient to wildfire. I challenge my colleagues in

06:10this room to think not only about these issues facing our forest and wildline interface communities, but

06:15also about the science-based solutions prevented by proactive forest management projects presented.

06:23These projects, coupled with community and home safety strategies, will both encourage insurers to

06:27cover at-risk residents more affordably and holistically and to help prevent devastating losses in the first

06:33place. I look forward to a robust discussion today on how we can protect our wildland urban interface

06:40communities and our forest through proper management. Thank you, and I now recognize the ranking member

06:45Dexter for her opening statements.

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