After a destructive and expensive wildfire season last year, a House panel advanced a resolution urging the federal government to pursue policies allowing for better forest management — but only after stripping language that also urged the federal government to minimize additional climate change.
The House Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Committee voted 11-2 Friday to advance HCR5 to the House floor, largely in support of the resolution sponsored Rep. Ray Ward, R-Bountiful, but not going so far as to acknowledge climate change is part of the problem.
Fire seasons in Utah have been "exceptionally destructive," the resolution states. Last year alone, the state saw over 480,000 acres scorched and 400 structures burned, with firefighting costs estimated to be $150 million.