Political Quotes

“Today, I introduce, for myself and Mrs. Feinstein, the Community and Forest Protection Act. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, (a) Findings.--Congress finds that: (1) In 2002, approximately six and one half million acres of forest lands in the U.S. burned with varying degrees of severity, 21 people lost their lives, and over 3000 structures were destroyed. The Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management spent more than $1 billion fighting these fires. (2) 73 million acres of public lands are classified as condition class 3 fire risks. This includes 23 million acres that are in strategic areas designated by the U.S. Forest Service for emergency treatment to withstand catastrophic fire. (3) The forest management policy of fire suppression has resulted in an accumulation of fuel loads, dead and dying trees, and non-native species that create fuel ladders which allow fires to reach the crowns of large old trees and cause catastrophic fire. (4) The U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior should immediately undertake an emergency program to reduce the risk of catastrophic fire.”