July 9, 2025 2:50 a.m.
Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley and Representative Val Hoyle have teamed up to introduce the Wildfire Resilient Communities Act in Congress.
A joint release said the legislation would provide dedicated federal support to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires in Oregon and across the West, while also empowering communities to prepare for wildfires.
Merkley said, “You can’t get ready after the fire starts”. Merkley said, “Our bill would ensure communities can seize every moment to prepare for and mitigate wildfires by supercharging investments in critical hazardous fuels projects”. Merkley said, “Increasingly extreme wildfire seasons fueled by climate chaos are not cooling down anytime soon, and we need a considerable increase in federal resources – not cuts – to make our forests, timber economies, and communities healthier and more resilient”.
Hoyle said, “I’m proud to join Senator Merkley in introducing this bill to reduce wildfire risk and strengthen forest dependent communities”. Hoyle said, “Year after year, wildfires have devastated our towns, economies and forests. This legislation invests in prevention, resilience, and local jobs – because protecting our communities shouldn’t stop at putting out fires” Hoyle said, “It starts with smart, proactive stewardship, and that’s’ exactly what this bill delivers”.
The release said the Wildfire Resilient Communities Act would double down on essential efforts to boost wildfire preparedness by creating a $30 billion fund to allow the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and other land management agencies to increase catastrophic wildfire reduction projects, reauthorize and triple funding up to $3 billion for the Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program, permanently reauthorizes the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program, which the lawmakers believe is critical for the five collaboratives in Oregon, and create a County Stewardship Fund that would provide payments to counties for stewardship contracts on federal land.
The full text of the legislation can be found at: https://hoyle.house.gov/imo/media/doc/the_wildfire_resilient_communities_act.pdf