FOFA, the Fix Our Forests Act, Contains Provisions Applauded by the Federation of American Scientists

Washington, D.C. – October 22, 2025 – Yesterday, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry favorably reported the Fix Our Forests Act (S. 1462) out of Committee. This important milestone means that the bill can now be considered for final passage by the full chamber. FAS applauds the strong bipartisan effort behind this bill under the leadership of Senators Curtis (R-UT), Hickenlooper (D-CO), Sheehy (R-MT), Padilla (D-CA), and many important champions in Congress. 

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is a non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to the use of science in the public interest. Our wildfire program aims to build a more fire-resilient nation through policy development and analysis, capacity building, and issue education.

“FAS is very pleased to see the Fix Our Forests Act, S. 1426, advance out of Committee. We urge the Senate to act quickly to pass this legislation and to ensure that federal agencies have the capacity and resourcing they need to carry out its provisions,” says Hannah Safford, Associate Director of Climate and Environment at FAS. 

 FAS has been a strong champion of the Fix Our Forests Act and endorsed S. 1462 in April 2025. “Science tells us that the wildfire crisis is becoming more and more urgent. FAS has been working to ensure that this bill includes essential, evidence-based reforms to protect people, property, and ecosystems. FAS particularly supports Sec. 102, which would create the Wildfire Intelligence Center- a decision support hub that would further our core priority of improving the use of science, data, and technology for wildfire resilience” said Jessica Blackband, Senior Manager the Federation of American Scientists. 

For more details on why FAS supports the bill, including 10 key provisions, view our policy statement here. In January 2025, the House of Representatives passed the Fix our Forests Act with bipartisan support by a vote of 279-141. The legislation was introduced by House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and Congressman Scott Peters (D-CA).

FAS is proud to be part of a broad, bipartisan coalition that supports the Fix Our Forests Act and looks forward to continuing to work with partners and decisionmakers to support a comprehensive and effective federal wildfire ecosystem.

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FOFA Support and FAS Wildfire Work

Coalition Letter of Support (September 2025)
FAS Position Statement on the Fix Our Forests Act (April 2025)
FAS Wildfire Work (2023-present)

ABOUT FAS

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) works to advance progress on a broad suite of contemporary issues where science, technology, and innovation policy can deliver transformative impact, and seeks to ensure that scientific and technical expertise have a seat at the policymaking table. Established eighty years ago by scientists in response to the atomic bomb, FAS continues to bring scientific rigor and analysis to address national challenges. More information about FAS work at fas.org.

The Federation of American Scientists supports S. 1462, the Fix Our Forests Act. Our letter of support is reprinted below.

September 9, 2025 

The Honorable John Thune 
Majority Leader 
United States Senate 
Washington, D.C. 20510 

The Honorable Charles Schumer 
Minority Leader 
United States Senate 
Washington, D.C. 20510 

Dear Majority Leader Thune and Minority Leader Schumer,  

We represent a broad range of organizations advocating to increase resilience to catastrophic wildfires, invest in active forest management including thinning, prescribed fire, restoration, and reforestation, improve land use planning and land management, enhance wildlife habitat and water quality, and better protect communities from wildfires. We support S. 1462, the Fix Our Forests Act. 

The rising risk of wildfire is an urgent and far-reaching crisis. Across the country, Americans are impacted by severe wildfires, from the tragic Palisades and Eaton Fires in Los Angeles earlier this year, to the smoke-choked skies of our Eastern and Midwestern cities this summer and last. Compounding severe wildfires, we are losing our forests to extreme weather like Hurricane Helene, drought, and insects and diseases that are ravaging heritage species like the white oak and giant sequoias. Just as Americans are directly impacted by wildfires and the loss of hundreds of millions of trees, so too are the natural resources and ecosystems we rely upon to provide drinking and agriculture water, feed and house us, provide for our recreation and hunting grounds, and sustain our traditions and ways of life. 

Despite widespread recognition of the need to mitigate the threats posed by catastrophic wildfire and ecosystem degradation, our lands and communities are at risk now more than ever before. Congress has an opportunity and responsibility to act. The Fix Our Forests Act is a critical step forward. The bill provides an opportunity to speed up the planning and implementation of wildfire risk reduction projects on federal lands while expanding collaborative tools to bring more partners into this vital work. Additionally, it bolsters the use of prescribed fire to help reduce fire severity and restore ecosystems. The bill recognizes that replanting after wildfire and other extreme events goes hand in hand with active forest management and the legislation supports ecosystem and habitat restoration across our public lands and in the priceless white oak forests of the Eastern U.S. The Fix Our Forests Act also takes a broad view of the solutions needed by establishing a Community Wildfire Risk Reduction Program to address risk in the built environment and creating a Fire Intelligence Center to improve interagency coordination and adoption of new technologies. 

The House has already acted on the companion bill, H.R. 471. It remains for the Senate to continue to advance the Fix Our Forests Act out of the Committee on Agriculture and Nutrition and secure passage of the bill before the full Senate. We commend the work of the Committee and cosponsors to date and we urge you to take swift action. Congress has the opportunity to take bipartisan action now, proactively, before the next fire inevitably costs lives, livelihoods, and ways of life. 

Sincerely, 

Alliance for Wildfire Resilience 

American Conservation Coalition Action 

American Forests 

American Property Casualty Insurance Association

Bipartisan Policy Center Action 

Citizens’ Climate Lobby 

Climate and Wildfire Institute 

Federation of American Scientists 

International Association of Fire Chiefs 

Megafire Action 

National Association of State Foresters 

National Wild Turkey Federation 

Nature is Nonpartisan 

Property and Environment Research Center 

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation 

Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition 

Tall Timbers

The Stewardship Project

Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

United Aerial Firefighters Association 

Vibrant Planet 

White Oak Initiative