Congress is moving bipartisan legislation to confront a forest health crisis that hunters, conservationists, rural communities and land managers have warned about for years.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the NSSF priority H.R. 471, the Fix Our Forests Act—sponsored by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), earlier this session. Chairman Westerman knows of what he speaks since he holds a master’s degree in forestry from Yale University. The U.S. Senate companion, S. 1462 and sponsored by Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah), has also advanced, with the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry reporting the bill out favorably and placing it on the Senate Legislative Calendar. The bill is well positioned for consideration by the full Senate.
That is meaningful progress. America’s forests are not suffering because they are being managed too aggressively. Too often, they are suffering because needed work is delayed until overgrown and diseased and fire-prone landscapes become fuel for the next catastrophic wildfire. This is the result of land management agencies dismissing scientific evidence and instead kowtowing to anti-hunting, environmentalist special interest groups.
However, hunters, recreational shooters and the firearm and ammunition industry members understand what real conservation requires. It takes active stewardship, sound science, public access and the resolve to manage wildlife habitat before disaster strikes.
Hunters, after all, are America’s original conservationists.
Active Management Is Conservation
The Fix Our Forests Act would improve forest management activities on National Forest System lands, public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and tribal lands to return resilience to overgrown, fire-prone forests.
That is conservation in action.
Healthy forests don’t happen by accident. They require thinning, prescribed fire, removal of hazardous fuels, watershed restoration, fuel breaks and coordinated work across federal, state, tribal and local boundaries. When that work is delayed by duplicative processes, endless review or litigation, the results are predictable.
Fires burn hotter. Watersheds are damaged. Roads, trails and public land access points close. Wildlife habitat is lost and animal populations are harmed. Rural communities are left to absorb the cost.
The House Natural Resources Committee, led by Chairman Westerman, appropriately describes the bill as legislation to restore forest health, increase resiliency to catastrophic wildfires and protect communities by expediting environmental analyses, reducing frivolous lawsuits and increasing the pace and scale of forest restoration projects. That is not a shortcut around conservation. It is the work conservation requires.
Wildlife, Access and Rural Communities Are on the Line
For sportsmen and women, this debate is not academic. Forests provide habitat for elk, deer, turkey, grouse, bear and countless other nongame species. They protect headwaters and fisheries. They sustain hunting access, outdoor recreation and the rural businesses that rely on public land use.
When catastrophic wildfires rip through unmanaged landscapes, they do not just burn trees. They destroy cover, damage watersheds, displace wildlife and can close public access for months or even years. Hunters know that lost access and habitat are not easily restored and recovery can take several years. The firearm and ammunition industry has a direct stake in this debate.
Hunters, recreational shooters and firearm and ammunition manufacturers are the backbone of American conservation funding. In 2026 alone, $804,790,385 of nearly $1.3 billion distributed to state conservation and wildlife access programs came directly from firearm and ammunition excise taxes paid by manufacturers. Since 1937, more than $31 billion (when adjusted for inflation) in Pittman-Robertson excise tax monies, paid by the firearm and ammunition industry, have been distributed to states for wildlife management, habitat work, public access and hunter education.
Those investments work best when federal land managers are able to manage the land. Those conservation dollars should be matched with policy that allows meaningful work to be completed on the ground, in a timely manner.
Delays Have Consequences
Federal agencies often know which landscapes face the greatest risk. Local communities know where fuel loads are building. State wildlife managers know where habitat is stressed. The problem is not a lack of warning. The problem is a federal process that too often moves slower than the threat.
H.R. 471 would establish a more focused approach for high-risk firesheds and improve coordination among agencies. It would also support better assessment, prediction and mapping of fire risk so managers can prioritize work where it matters most.
That is important because wildfire risk is not just a forestry issue. It is a wildlife issue, a public access issue, a watershed issue and a rural economy issue.
Congress should not wait for another catastrophic fire season to prove what land managers and conservationists already know. Responsible forest management is not optional. It is necessary.
The House has acted. The Senate has moved its companion bill forward. The next step is for the full Senate to take up the Fix Our Forests Act and keep this bipartisan effort moving.
If the Senate passes its version, S. 1462, lawmakers will need to reconcile differences with the House-passed bill before final legislation can be approved. That is the normal work of Congress. It should not become an excuse for inaction.
The firearm and ammunition industry, hunters and recreational shooters have done their part for conservation for generations. They fund wildlife restoration, habitat improvement, hunter education and public access through excise taxes that remain the gold standard of conservation funding.
Congress should match that commitment with policy that allows forests to be restored before they burn, habitat to be improved before it is lost and public access to be protected before gates are closed.
The Fix Our Forests Act is a serious step in that direction.
– Larry Keane
Larry Keane is SVP for Government and Public Affairs, Assistant Secretary and General Counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
