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Congressman Mike Garcia (1)

Congressman Garcia Introduces PROTECT Act To Mitigate California Wildfires, Including Santa Clarita

Congressman Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, introduced the Protecting and Restoring Our Trees by Enhancing Conservation and Treatments (PROTECT) Act Tuesday to help prevent wildfires in areas across the state, including Santa Clarita.

Garcia introduced the PROTECT Act to Congress Tuesday to help reduce the frequency of wildfires in the Santa Clarita Valley and throughout the western United States.

“Decades of forest mismanagement have left our federal forests to become overstocked tinderboxes waiting to burn and have resulted in the recent increase in catastrophic wildfires in California and across the West,” Garcia said. “I’m proud to introduce The PROTECT Act, which would streamline our ability to utilize active forest management tools and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires.”

The PROTECT Act removes current regulations to allow for active forest management, mainly through brush clearing and prescribed burns, to reduce the risk of large wildfires, according to Garcia’s office.

See Related: Santa Clarita Assemblymember Valladares Talks Wildfires, Power Outages On-Air With KHTS

A 2019 Stanford study found that utilizing prescribed burns to reduce forest fuels could better protect communities from deadly wildfires.

The PROTECT Act would allow a 10,000-acre categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), representatives said.

The categorical exclusion would categorize actions to prevent wildfires in those 10,000 acres as not being environmentally harmful.

With the exclusion, wildfire prevention efforts in those areas would be able to sidestep some current regulations so that officials could take action quicker, according to officials.

The legislation would allow categorical exclusions of up to 30,000 acres for collaborative projects, representatives said.

Wildfire prevention efforts would include addressing insects and disease, reducing hazardous fuels, protecting water sources and increasing water yield, helping native species restoration and removing dead or dying trees, according to Garcia’s office.

“It is past time to listen to the science and implement active forest management tools that will protect our communities and the environment,” Garcia said.

The PROTECT Act is sponsored by House Natural Resources Republican Leader Bruce Westerman (R-AR), House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry Republican Leader Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Western Congressional Caucus Chairman Dan Newhouse (R-WA), House Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife Republican Leader Cliff Bentz (R-OR), Representatives Devin Nunes (R-CA), Jay Obernolte (R-CA), Dusty Johnson (R-SD) and Matt Rosendale (R-MT), according to representatives.

According to Garcia’s office, the act is endorsed by:

  • The Federal Forest Resource Coalition
  • Missouri Forest Products Association
  • Colorado Timber Industry Association
  • Associated California Loggers
  • Louisiana Forestry Association
  • Minnesota Forest Industries
  • American Forest Resource Council
  • Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association
  • Michigan Forest Products Council
  • Black Hills Forest Resource Association
  • Intermountain Forest Association
  • Associated Contract Loggers & Truckers of Minnesota
  • American Loggers Council
  • Montana Wood Products Association
  • Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association
  • Associated Logging Contractors—Idaho
  • Associated Oregon Loggers
  • American Forest & Paper Association
  • American Walnut Manufacturers Association
  • The Hardwood Federation


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Congressman Garcia Introduces PROTECT Act To Mitigate California Wildfires, Including Santa Clarita

4 comments

  1. stop wasting time and money with your R cronies. By the time you get any of this into action, our forests will have burned down. Perhaps you should educate yourselves on why we continue to have these fires.

  2. Rep. Garcia is campaigning too early. He is announcing all these bills that he introduces that most likely will never get passed. He takes credit for introducing an amendment that passed, but later voted against the same bill becoming law. Now he introduces the PROTECT Act a bill supported by the logging industry which probably donates to his campaign.

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As Santa Clarita’s only local radio station, KHTS FM 98.1 & AM 1220 mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, along with your favorite adult contemporary hits by artists such as Rob Thomas, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Maroon 5. We are vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community. Our broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. We stream our talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience.