Senator Lummis and Senator Daines Demand Better Wildfire Management from the Biden Administration

U.S. Senate Western Caucus Chair Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) joined U.S. Senator Steve Daines of Montana in sending a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency urging the agency to create a pathway for air regulators to account for smoke from prescribed fires under the Clean Air Act. Prescribed fires are a proven method that help protect communities in Wyoming and throughout the west from out-of-control wildfires. These burns also help prevent heavy smoke, as a prescribed burn creates a smaller amount of smoke compared to a large wildfire.

On November 8, 2023, the EPA, the Department of the Interior , the Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance collaboration to protect communities from the negative impacts of wildfire smoke. Complex and technical regulations continue to limit the use of prescribed fires, which produce far less smoke than wildfires and can be planned when wind is blowing away from communities.

Senate Western Caucus members John Barrasso (R-WY), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Jim Risch (R-ID), John Thune (R-SD) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) joined Daines and Lummis in sending the letter. You can view the letter here.