Forest Health Bill Passes Unanimously

Forest Health Bill Passes Unanimously

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
I'm Bob Larson. A bill promoting forest health has now swept through both the House of Representatives and the Senate giving unanimous support to Senator Brad Hawkins' plan for reducing the risk of wildfires ...

BRAD HAWKINS ... "I think we're going to see the benefits of this bill for many, many years and hopefully for generations."

Hawkins says Senate Bill 5546 lays out a comprehensive plan to address future wildfires ...

BRAD HAWKINS ... "It sets up a framework for our long-term forest health strategic outlook for the state of Washington. It sets a goal to treat over 1 million acres of fire-prone lands by 2033, and I'm just really excited it passed the House yesterday."

The East Wenatchee Republican this bill began as a community conversation with his constituents ...

BRAD HAWKINS ... "This bill was inspired by the good people back home after a couple of years of devastating, back-to-back, largest wildfires in state history. And sometimes, good things can come from those tragedies and the folks back home, the folks who have worked on the wildfire project really helped raise awareness of this issue of the need for forest health primarily through prescribed thinning and burning. It really raised the awareness and they're really starting to influence state policy."

The bill now heads to Governor Inslee's desk for the bill signing.

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