On Oct. 21, the so-called \u201cFix our Forests Act<\/a>\u201d–introduced by Sen. John Hickenlooper\u2014passed out of committee and will soon be voted on by the full Senate. As a recent graduate of CU Boulder, I\u2019m concerned about the devastating effects this bill would have on public lands and the lack of critical media coverage surrounding it and logging across Colorado.<\/p>\n Under the guise of wildfire protection, \u201cFix our Forests\u201d expands the amount of logging on public land. Unlike home hardening, logging does nothing to protect communities from wildfire and lets government agencies ramp up cutting in public forests. It would undermine the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act by eliminating environmental assessments and would take away the public\u2019s ability to challenge projects.<\/p>\n Who is this bill for? The science surrounding the efficacy of forest \u201cthinning\u201d for reducing high-severity wildfire is dubious at best, with some experts claiming it might increase the size and severity of wildfires. I struggle to understand how limiting regulations and reducing community input would somehow increase safety. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a coincidence that this bill is being passed after the White House issued an executive order for immediate expansion of timber production and rolled back the \u201cRoadless Rule.\u201d<\/p>\n I applaud Sen. Michael Bennet for voting no on this bill, but it still may become law. It\u2019s crucial that media outlets report in a balanced way on the consequences that such logging in the name of wildfire will have on our forests and communities.<\/p>\n