[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 208 (Thursday, December 2, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H6895]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 THE NEED FOR BETTER FOREST MANAGEMENT

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, as we reflect upon yet another horrific 
fire season in California and the West, we cannot allow ourselves to 
forget or get complacent.
  This week, we have had several good meetings here in D.C. with 
various groups talking about the need for better forest management.
  This is more or less what the average forest looks like that is 
unmanaged. You can hardly see through it. You could never ride a horse 
through it. An owl can hardly fly through the thing. So what does this 
mean, an overcrowded forest? It means fire danger.
  These trees compete for a limited amount of water supply. Insects 
attack and weaken trees because they don't have enough water and soil 
nutrients.
  The right amount of trees per acre would look something like this. 
See, we are not cutting all the trees from Mexico to the Canadian 
border, we are leaving some behind, a healthier more sustainable 
forest. We will have much more success and much less fire danger.
  Indeed, over a million acres in my district burned this year--a 
million acres. That is terrible for water quality, air quality, for the 
wildlife, and for the habitat. We could do so much better and put 
people back to work managing our forests in a way that is better for 
everybody with access to the forest. Let's get on it.

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