Federal legislation aimed at reducing wildfire risk on national forest land has cleared major procedural hurdles in Congress, though Oregon's two Democratic senators have not signed onto the measure and are instead backing competing legislation focused on utility infrastructure investments.
The Fix Our Forests Act would extend federal authority for utilities to remove hazardous trees near power lines from 10 feet to 150 feet, streamline federal permitting for wildfire mitigation work, and impose tighter judicial review timelines on fuel-reduction projects that have been delayed by litigation. The bill passed the House in a 279-141 vote and cleared the Senate Agriculture Committee 18 to 5, with Democratic support from senators representing California, Minnesota, and Colorado.
What the Right Is Saying
Four Western governors from both parties — California's Gavin Newsom (D), Montana's Greg Gianforte (R), Colorado's Jared Polis (D) and Utah's Spencer Cox (R) — have endorsed the Fix Our Forests Act, calling it essential for protecting communities in fire-prone regions.
Supporters point to case studies illustrating federal permitting delays. According to reporting by The Hill, Midstate Electric Cooperative in La Pine, Oregon spent years seeking permits to clear trees growing within six feet of a power line through the Deschutes National Forest. During that wait, La Pine faced three major wildfires in under five years, with the city manager describing the community as living with flames knocking on the back door.
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), the federally designated reliability authority for the bulk power system, identified wildfire as a growing risk to electric reliability across the Western United States in its 2026 Summer Reliability Assessment. The report specifically called for vegetation management beyond traditional rights-of-way to protect critical infrastructure — a recommendation NERC says comes from the grid's own reliability authority rather than industry lobbying.
What the Left Is Saying
Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley of Oregon have not supported the Fix Our Forests Act. Instead, they have backed the Wildfire and Grid Reliability Act, a $15 billion-per-year matching grant program designed to fund utility infrastructure investments including undergrounding power lines, hardening poles, and conducting vegetation management within existing rights-of-way.
Environmental groups have raised concerns about expanded tree removal authority under the Fix Our Forests Act. Critics have characterized broader vegetation management provisions as a logging giveaway that could harm forest ecosystems. A more substantive objection from some environmental organizations centers on Forest Service capacity: they argue the agency is too under-resourced to make careful, site-specific decisions about expanded land management authority.
Kurt Miller, CEO of the Northwest Public Power Association, argues in an opinion piece for The Hill that critics misread both the bill and its primary supporters. He contends the hazard-tree provisions apply only to vegetation near energized infrastructure rather than commercial timber stands, and that fuel-reduction targets overstocked forests where decades of suppressed fire have built catastrophic conditions.
What the Numbers Show
The House vote of 279-141 reflects bipartisan support, with roughly 50 Republicans joining nearly all Democrats in passage. The Senate Agriculture Committee vote of 18-5 included Democratic votes from Sens. Alex Padilla (Calif.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) and Michael Bennet (Colo.).
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) warned last month of a potentially severe 2026 fire season, citing drought emergencies in nine counties and the warmest winter on record. Federal forecasters project above-normal fire risk east of the Cascade Mountains beginning in June and expanding through much of the Western U.S. by August.
The competing Wildfire and Grid Reliability Act proposes $15 billion annually in matching grants for utility infrastructure investments — a significantly larger federal spending commitment than the administrative streamlining and permitting reforms in the Fix Our Forests Act.
The Bottom Line
The Fix Our Forests Act now awaits Senate floor action with broad bipartisan backing but without support from Oregon's two Democratic senators, whose state has experienced some of the most devastating wildfires in recent years. Whether their alternative proposal gains traction as a competing or complementary measure remains to be seen. With federal forecasters projecting elevated fire risk across the Western U.S. beginning this month, pressure on the Senate to act is intensifying. The outcome will determine whether the federal permitting reforms survive negotiations and reach the president's desk.