WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-21) joined Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23), House Natural Resources Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (AR-4), and Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) in introducing H.R. 8168, the Save our Sequoias (SOS) Act.

In the past two years alone, catastrophic wildfires wiped out nearly one-fifth of the world’s Giant Sequoias. The emergency facing Giant Sequoias is unprecedented, and despite the looming threat to the remaining Giant Sequoias, federal land managers have not been able to increase the pace and scale of treatments necessary to restore Giant Sequoia resiliency to wildfires, insects, and drought. Without urgent action, we are at risk of losing the iconic Giant Sequoia in the next several years.

"Our giant sequoias are a national treasure, and here in the Central Valley we’re lucky enough to have them right in our own backyard," said Congressman Valadao. "The Save our Sequoias Act includes real reforms to forest management and equips our federal land managers with the tools and resources they need to save these trees from the threat of wildfire. I’m proud to be a part of this bipartisan effort to save our Sequoias for future generations."

Background:

Last month, Congressman Valadao joined a bipartisan delegation to visit the Sequoia National Forest. During the trip, the members spoke with U.S. Forest Service officials about the area's recent fire history and need for vegetation management. This was followed by a roundtable to listen to community leaders, local experts and federal land managers on ways to best protect Giant Sequoias from threats like high-severity wildfire, insects and drought.

The bipartisan SOS Act would:

• Enhance coordination between federal, state, tribal and local land managers through shared stewardship agreements and the codification of the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition, a partnership between the current Giant Sequoia managers.
• Create a Giant Sequoia Health and Resiliency Assessment to prioritize wildfire risk reduction treatments in the highest-risk groves and track the progress of scientific forest management activities.
• Declare an emergency to streamline and expedite environmental reviews and consultations while maintaining robust scientific analysis.
• Provide new authority to the National Park Foundation and National Forest Foundation to accept private donations to facilitate Giant Sequoia restoration and resiliency.
• Establish a comprehensive reforestation strategy to regenerate Giant Sequoias in areas destroyed by recent catastrophic wildfires.

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