WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) today applauded the U.S. Senate’s unanimous passage of S. 5045, the Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act of 2026. The bipartisan bill provides greater clarity for states, tribes, and private land managers on the use of prescribed fire to reduce hazardous fuels and protect forests and communities from severe wildfire. The Senate approved the bill by unanimous consent on September 29.
Prescribed fire is a critical forest management treatment for improving forest health. It is often used to remove the brush, small trees, and ladder fuels that decades of fire exclusion have allowed to build up across America’s forests. Yet current law is unclear on whether the smoke from carefully planned prescribed burns count against a state’s compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). That uncertainty can discourage the very work that prevents far larger, and far smokier, severe wildfires.
“Prescribed fire is an important tool for keeping America’s forests healthy and resilient,” said Dave Tenny, President and CEO of the National Alliance of Forest Owners. “This bill will help states, Tribes, and private landowners pursue the preventative measures needed to keep our forests healthy and reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire. Prescribed fire and cultural burning are proven tools for reducing wildfire risk, and federal policy should not discourage their use.”
The Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act clarifies that prescribed fires can be treated as “exceptional events” under the Clean Air Act, removing regulatory uncertainty over the use of fire as a forest health tool available to forest managers. The legislation also recognizes the stewardship of tribal nations, who have used fire, including cultural burning, to care for and sustain forests for generations.
NAFO thanks Senators John Curtis (R-UT) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) for leading this effort, along with Environment and Public Works Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Senators John Boozman (R-AR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ).
Unanimous Senate passage sends a clear signal that removing barriers to prescribed fire is an area of bipartisan agreement. With legislation now moving in both chambers, Congress has an opportunity to get a final measure across the finish line and send it to the President’s desk. America’s forests, and the communities that depend on them need clarity, not confusion, to secure a safer future.
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The National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) is a national advocacy organization committed to advancing policies that ensure our working forests provide clean air, clean water, wildlife habitat and jobs through sustainable practices and strong markets. NAFO members include companies, families, and tribes that own and sustainably manage 44 million acres of private working forests – forests that are managed to provide a steady supply of timber. NAFO’s membership also includes state and national associations representing tens of millions of additional acres. Private working forests in the U.S. support 3.9 million jobs. Private working forests – which provide 90% of our timber harvest for wood and fiber – also account for 80% of our total net forest carbon sequestration and approximately half of our forest carbon storage. Learn more at nafo.org.