Washington, D.C. - U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady (R-The Woodlands) whose district is home to many thousands of acres of pristine national forests and the Big Thicket National Preserve co-sponsored and voted in support of HR 4200, the Forest Emergency Restoration and Recovery Act.  The bipartisan legislation aims to expedite common sense forest recovery efforts on specified federal lands after catastrophic events like wildfires and hurricanes.

 

"Currently, it can take the federal government more than three years to restore the health of forests damaged by catastrophic events like fires and hurricanes, even though every other land management group - from state and local governments to tribes and private landowners - takes action within months, weeks, or even days," said Brady. 

 

"The Forest Emergency Recovery and Research Act will ease burdensome regulations that prevent the federal government from taking quick action to restore our forests.  This bill will help restore the health, safety, and vitality of our forests while ensuring that the dead timber removed from forests doesn't go to waste." 

 

Hurricane Rita's torrential winds downed close to 435,000 acres of mature timber throughout East and Southeast Texas, leaving ample fuel on the forest floor for fire and salvageable timber inaccessible. 

 

H.R. 4200 would give federal land managers the tools necessary to more quickly restore parts of America's national forests damaged by catastrophic events, without waiving environmental laws, if quick action is found to be beneficial to the long-term health and recovery of the forest.