WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) – Rep. Tom Tiffany’s Acres Act was brought before and passed in the House of Representatives on Thursday.
The Acres Act seeks to ensure that forests located on federal land are properly treated by removing dead or diseased trees and clearing brush on the forest floors.
Tiffany stated that the bill will help hold the U.S. Forest Service accountable for wildfires that are caused and spread due to forest mismanagement.
“A lot of the smoke in the air and fire issues are coming from these western states that have these wildfires, and much of it is due to mismanagement. There isn’t any other reason than managing these forests properly so they’re not overstocked with diseased trees that are laying there dying and are highly vulnerable to fires,” Tiffany said.
According to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), over 60,000 wildfires burn 8 million acres in the United States each year. While the total number of wildfires has decreased by around 25% in the last decade, some experts say they are becoming more destructive and lethal than ever. The number of wildfires in 2022 alone was around 65,000, totaling more than 7 million acres burned, which was the highest amount burned since 2017.
