Phil Gingrey: “In this decade, wildland fires have consumed 50 million acres in this country. While the term 'wildland fires' brings to…”

“In this decade, wildland fires have consumed 50 million acres in this country. While the term 'wildland fires' brings to mind uninhabited areas in our Nation's parks, forests, and rural areas, wildland fires have done tremendous damage to urban and suburban development as well. Last fall, western States were hit particularly hard by wildland fires that encroached into developed areas and destroyed homes, businesses, and livelihoods. The amendment allows the Administrator of the USFA to distribute information on the importance of clearing in these areas biomass materials from Federal lands, not out in the interior of a National Park. Removing hazardous fuels, biomass materials, from Federal forests and lands will help to prevent, and more importantly, to limit these forest fires as they begin to encroach on urban areas. So if you leave these materials susceptible to forest fires, the consequences... can be disastrous.”