[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
[September 12, 2002]
[Pages 1579-1580]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement on Proposed Legislation To Implement the Healthy Forests 
Initiative
September 12, 2002

    Just 3 weeks ago, I visited Oregon to see firsthand the devastating 
effects of the catastrophic wildfires that have burned more than 6 
million acres of forests across the West this summer. I also announced a 
new and commonsense initiative to restore forest health and prevent 
these unnaturally severe fires. I directed Secretaries Veneman and Norton to work with 
Congress to develop legislation to address the crisis in forest and 
rangeland health that has put more than 190 million acres of public 
land--an area twice the size of California--at risk of catastrophic 
fires. We

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have a simple choice: We can act now to protect these forests, or we can 
stand by and watch them burn. Secretaries Norton and Veneman delivered 
to Congress a legislative package that meets our responsibility to 
reduce fire risks quickly in high-priority areas, and I am very pleased 
that this proposal was introduced in the House of Representatives today. 
There is bipartisan agreement that public lands of the West are 
desperately in need of active management efforts to restore forest and 
rangeland health. I call upon Congress to act upon this urgent priority 
as quickly as possible.