Daines calls for advancement of bill on wildfire management

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) recently urged his fellow legislators to advance legislation that would provide funding for fighting wildfires, reform associated litigation procedures and increase active forest management.

“I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, let’s come together and pass a wildfire funding solution as well as timber management that includes some litigation reform, so we can move forward here and protect our forests, protect our jobs and protect the lives of the men and women who fight these fires,” Daines said.

In his speech, Daines highlighted the damage that can be done by lawsuits, using the Spotted Bear River case in his home state as an example of frivolous litigation that prevented the implementation of a project for years.

“According to nonpartisan research done by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) at the University of Montana, the case was in court for over 1,000 days,” Daines said. “Instead of planning new forest restoration projects, 18 Forest Service personnel spent nearly 2,000 hours responding to a lawsuit. The impacts of litigation against this project — and many, many others — are extensive and severe, and they should not be accepted."