Crooked River Ranch fire protection bill gets hearing

Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., said Tuesdaythe U.S. House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing Thursday on his plan to better protect Crooked River Ranch from wildfire, a major step forward for the legislation.

Crooked River Ranch Fire Chief Richard Hoffmann will travel to Washington, D.C. to brief the committee on the need for the changes, Walden said.

“This is a big step forward for our plan to protect lives and property at Crooked River Ranch from fire. I’m pleased that Fire Chief Hoffmann and I will have a chance to brief the committee on why this is so important for the community,” Walden said in a news release.

“Because of misguided federal land policies, basic fire prevention management isn’t being done around Crooked River Ranch. Our plan would change that so firefighters and land managers can conduct this much needed prevention work to improve public safety during future fire seasons.”

Walden introduced the “Crooked River Ranch Fire Protection Act” (H.R. 5132) in the House on April 29 .

The proposal would help protect lives and property at Crooked River Ranch by adjusting the boundary of the adjacent Wilderness Study Area (WSA) in order to better facilitate fire prevention activities on public lands and the adjacent private property.

These lands are in the highest risk category for exposure to devastating wildfire, the lawmaker said, due to overstocked juniper standsunder the federally mandated and locally promulgated Jefferson County Community Wildfire Protection Plan. And the current WSA classification prevents mechanical fire prevention activities within these overstocked juniper stands.

The hearing of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands will take place on Thursday, May 12 , at 7:00 am Pacific/10:00 am Eastern.