WASHINGTON – Today, Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES) President and CEO Heather Reams issued the following statement congratulating House passage of the bipartisan Save Our Sequoias Act introduced by Reps. Vince Fong (R-Calif.) and Scott Peters (D-Calif.):
“CRES proudly supports the Save Our Sequoias Act, which will help protect one of America’s most iconic trees from wildfires by improving communication between government agencies and providing land managers with the tools needed to create more resilient ecosystems,” said Heather Reams, CRES President and CEO. “We appreciate the leadership of Reps. Fong and Peters and encourage swift passage of the companion legislation introduced in the Senate by Sens. Curtis and Padilla.”
The Save Our Sequoias Act would:
- Enhance coordination between federal, state, tribal, and local land managers through shared stewardship agreements and the codification of the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition, a partnership between the current Giant Sequoia managers.
- Create a Giant Sequoia Health and Resiliency Assessment to prioritize wildfire risk reduction treatments in the highest-risk groves and track the progress of scientific forest management activities.
- Declare an emergency to streamline and expedite environmental reviews and consultations while maintaining robust scientific analysis.
- Provide new authority to the National Park Foundation and National Forest Foundation to accept private donations to facilitate Giant Sequoia restoration and resiliency.
- Establish a comprehensive reforestation strategy to regenerate Giant Sequoias in areas destroyed by recent catastrophic wildfires.