On Sept. 20, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill that would increase logging in national forests, according to the Washington Post. The White House has threatened to veto the bill, which was approved on a 244-173 vote, but supporters say it would create jobs in rural communities and help reduce wildfires in the West.
The House bill's sponsor, republican Rep. Doc Hastings of Washington, told the Associate Press that wildfires burned 9.3 million acres last year, while the Forest Service only harvested timber from about 200,000 acres. "We burned 44 times more acres than we've managed," Hastings said.
Opponents say the bill serves only the timber industry and will harm water quality and wildlife.
The Associated Press speculates that the bill will have little chance of passing through the Democrat-controlled Senate but notes that senators have not ruled out adopting a forest management bill.
