Rep. Fong and Rep. Peters Introduce Bipartisan Save Our Sequoias (SOS) Act to Protect California’s Iconic Giant Sequoias from Catastrophic Wildfires

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representatives Vince Fong (CA-20) and Scott Peters (CA-50) introduced the Save Our Sequoias (SOS) Act, a bipartisan bill designed to safeguard California's iconic Giant Sequoias. 

This bill would enhance interagency coordination, accelerate forest restoration efforts, and provide important resources to land managers to guard these ancient trees from further destruction. The SOS Act would reverse the damage caused by catastrophic wildfires and restore the resilience of Giant Sequoia groves – which provide critical ecological, scientific, and cultural benefits. Co-led by Reps. Fong and Peters, this vital legislation has garnered the support of 26 additional Members from both sides of the aisle, united in their commitment to combatting forest mismanagement. 

“California’s Giant Sequoias are a symbol of our state’s natural heritage,” said Rep. Vince Fong. “We cannot afford to stand by as continued forest mismanagement destroys our natural resources. It is essential we enact legislation that enforces proactive forest management, and harnesses the power of science, collaboration, and expedited action to protect the remaining Giant Sequoias, return resilience to our forests, and ensure these trees endure for generations.”

Over the last century, fire suppression practices and forest mismanagement have led to a dangerous build-up of fuels, which, in combination with increasingly intense wildfires, has caused the unparalleled destruction of Giant Sequoia groves. In the last two years alone, there has been a nearly 20% loss of these trees – a rapid and alarming statistic that highlights the severity of this crisis.

"For generations, the majestic giant sequoia has provided innumerable cultural, environmental, and recreational benefits to humans,” said Rep. Scott Peters. “Unfortunately, insufficient land management and climate change have led to increasingly severe fires that threaten the survival of giant sequoias and the stability of the climate. In just one year, the California wildfires that threaten the Sequoias contributed more to climate change than the state’s entire power sector. Our Save Our Sequoias Act charts a new path forward in federal forest and wildfire policy to combat climate change and ensure the giant sequoias stand safely in their natural habitat for years to come."

Chairman of the Western Caucus, Rep. Doug LaMalfa (CA-01), an original co-sponsor of the SOS Act, further supports this crucial action. 

“Catastrophic wildfires are threatening California’s historic giant sequoias,” said Chairman LaMalfa. “These trees are the largest in the world but saving them will not require a herculean effort – just increasing the pace and scale of common-sense forest management policies. Representative Fong’s bipartisan solution saves our sequoia groves by expediting hazardous fuels removal and creating stewardship agreements that bring land managers from every level of government into a partnership.”

The SOS Act will provide the following key measures to address this crisis:

• Reforestation Strategy: Establish a comprehensive reforestation strategy to regenerate Giant Sequoias in groves destroyed by recent wildfires, helping to ensure the long-term survival of these majestic trees.
• Expedited Emergency Procedures: Declare an emergency to codify existing emergency procedures, streamline environmental reviews, and maintain robust scientific analysis to accelerate necessary forest treatments.
• Enhanced Coordination: Strengthen collaboration between federal, state, tribal, and local land managers through shared stewardship agreements and the creation of the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition, a partnership between current Giant Sequoia managers.
• Health and Resiliency Assessment: Establish a Giant Sequoia Health and Resiliency Assessment to prioritize forest management projects, track progress, and ensure ongoing study of the trees' health and resiliency over time.
• Hazardous Fuels Reduction Funding: Provide funding and create a new grant program to support hazardous fuels reduction treatments in and around Giant Sequoia groves, mitigating the risk of wildfires.

At its current pace, it would take the U.S. Forest Service 52 years to treat just the 19 most at-risk Giant Sequoia groves. Speeding up science-based forest treatments will boost resilience, improve air and water quality, reduce carbon emissions, and protect vital habitats. Giant Sequoias, the world’s largest trees, are found in 70 groves across 37,000 acres in California, where nearly one-fifth have been destroyed since 2015. The time to protect these irreplaceable pieces of history for future generations is now.

Several community partners have announced their support for this crucial piece of legislation including the Save the Redwoods League and Tule River Tribe. 

“Save the Redwoods League and our federal, state, and tribal partners led significant efforts to restore resilience to the giant sequoias in the past year, yet the existential threat across the range remains severe. It is critically urgent that the National Park Service and USDA-Forest Service have the tools and sustained/permanent funding necessary to implement near-term restoration actions and long-term stewardship of the Giant Sequoia ecosystem. Ensuring a robust future of this iconic species is among the League’s highest priorities,” said Kirsten Tobey, interim president and CEO of Save the Redwoods League. “We welcome the opportunity presented by the reintroduction of the Save Our Sequoias Act to work with Congress to secure the necessary resources and flexibility for our partners to do this critical work, comprehensively and sustainably. The League applauds the leadership of Congressman Fong, Congressman Peters, and all the bill’s supporters for their commitment to giant sequoia conservation.”

“The Tule River Tribe is proud to support the passage of the Save the Sequoias Act,” said Shine Nieto, chairman of the Tule River Tribe. “The legislation paves the way to formalize a clear path forward on how we can combine our strengths to safeguard the sequoias. Thank you, Congressman Fong, the Tule River Tribe truly appreciates your efforts.”

Click the video to learn more. 

Read the bill text here.

###