Congressman Crow, Senator Bennet Re-Introduce Bill to Combat Intensifying Wildfires and Drought Across the American West

WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Jason Crow (D-CO-06) and Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) re-introduced the Protect the West Act, legislation that would make critical investments to protect the American West from intensifying wildfires because of climate change.

“Climate change is threatening our way of life in Colorado. We must act,” said Congressman Crow. “The Protect the West Act would help combat intensifying wildfires and help better protect Colorado communities.”

“In the West, our forests, grasslands, and watersheds are essential to our economy and way of life. But they are under threat from the worsening effects of climate change and consistent underinvestment from the federal government,” said Senator Bennet. “As we face a 1,200-year megadrought and wildfire season that never seems to end, we need to break from the status quo and invest in the restoration of our forests and public lands to meet this challenge. We have no time to waste.”

The Protect the West Act would:

• Establish an Outdoor Restoration & Watershed Fund to increase support for local efforts to restore forests and watersheds, reduce wildfire risk, clean up public lands, enhance wildlife habitat, remove invasive species, and expand outdoor access; 
• Establish an advisory council of local, industry, conservation, Tribal, and national experts to advise funding priorities, coordinate with existing regional efforts, and provide oversight;
• Empower local leaders by making $20 billion directly available to state and local governments, Tribes, special districts, and nonprofits to support restoration, drought resilience, and fire mitigation projects;
• Further partnerships with states and Tribes to invest $40 billion to tackle the backlog of restoration, fire mitigation, and resilience projects across public, private, and Tribal lands;
• Create or sustain over two million good-paying jobs, primarily in rural areas, to support existing industries like forest-product, agriculture, and outdoor recreation;
• Save landowners and local governments money by investing in wildfire prevention and natural hazard mitigation on the front end. 

This legislation builds on Congressman Crow’s long record of protecting Colorado communities from the worst effects of climate change, including previously introducing the Protect the West Act with Senator Bennet in the 118th Congress. Congressman Crow also introduced the Championing Local Efforts to Advance Resilience (CLEAR) Act, bipartisan legislation that would empower states nationwide to establish and maintain resiliency offices to combat the worst effects of climate change. He also supported the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, representing the largest investment in climate resilience in our nation’s history.

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