Assigned to NREW FOR COMMITTEE
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, First Regular Session
FACT SHEET FOR H.C.M. 2004
urging Congress; national forest health
Purpose
Requests the U.S. Congress to pass legislation that will support multiple-use forest
management policies to improve the United States forest health.
Background
In 1911, the federal government ceded their policy of using ground fires to keep forest
landscapes open (USFS). The fire exclusion policy was used until the 1970s, in an effort to
suppress and prevent all fires to protect the forests (USDA; USFS). There are two types of fires in
forests: 1) wildfires that are unplanned; and 2) prescribed fires that are conducted by states or the
federal government to improve the health of the forest and remove fuel (ADEQ). The fire exclusion
policy caused a buildup of fuels, including trees, grass, dead leaves and fallen branches which
creates dense forests that can erupt into wildfires from dry lightning or human activity (USFS).
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) identified two methods for reducing wildfires: 1) fuel
treatments; and 2) building workforce capacity. Fuel treatments are techniques used to reduce the
amount of fuel in a forest. The goal of the USFS is to treat 20 million acres of National Forest
System lands in the Western United States and 30 million acres of federal, state, tribal and private
lands. In additional to fuel treatments, the USFS states that to restore forest health there needs to
be workforce capacity building in federal, state, local and tribal agencies to build a
multijurisdictional coalition to address the wildfire crisis (USFS).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this
legislation.
Provisions
1. Requests the U.S. Congress to enact legislation that will support reasonable and prudent
multiple-use forest management policies to improve our nation's forest health.
2. Directs the Secretary of State to transmit copies of the Memorial to the U.S. President, the
President of the U.S. Senate, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and each
Member of Congress from the State of Arizona.
House Action
LARA 2/6/23 DP 5-4-0-0
3
rd
Read 2/21/23 34-26-0
Prepared by Senate Research
March 21, 2023
RA/SF/slp