Colorado Democrats split with each other over a critical forest health bill to protect communities against wildfires that passed the House last week on a bipartisan vote.
Forest health is tantamount to keeping Coloradans and their property safe from devastating wildfires, so why in the world would any of the Democrats in the state’s delegation vote against it?
Probably because radical environmental groups opposed the bill, but we don’t know for sure because it seems no one in the state media machine is interested in forest fire prevention articles when political thought is split.
Our interest was piqued when this X post was brought to our attention by an alert reader, asking “What the Hell?”
Here’s how the CO delegation voted:
Yes – Boebert, Caraveo, Lamborn, Lopez & Pettersen
No – Crow, DeGette & Neguse.
Pettersen & Boebert had amendments adopted via voice vote.
The bill is unlikely to advance in the Senate & the WH says it’s opposed to the bill. #copolitics https://t.co/VZInBf3T6d
— Caitlyn Kim (@caitlynkim) September 24, 2024
What the Hell, indeed.
After some digging, we discovered the left is up in arms over a provision in the Fix Our Forests Act that reforms the bedeviled National Environmental Policy Act known as NEPA.
Radical environmentalists who oppose the removal of any tree in good health or bad have abused this law for decades to block forest thinning projects that would remove dead vegetation that acts as forest fire fuel sparking deadly wildfires.
From the Washington Examiner:
It seeks to ensure faster approvals for forest management projects in areas that are at high risk for wildfires, such as forest thinning and chemical or reseeding and planting treatments. Other projects detailed in the bill include reducing vegetation near power lines, removing dead or dying trees, and the use of biochar to improve soil on forest floors.
Reducing vegetation near power lines should be a key priority for every Colorado lawmaker, and yet Democrat U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette, Jason Crow and Joe Neguse sided with Big Green.
Will Neguse have to explain this vote to his constituents in Boulder, where more than 1,000 homes burned in the Marshall Fire that ignited from (checks notes) sparks from a power line?
Not if the media continues to protect stupid Democrat votes in Congress like this one.