NPS Announcement on Giant Sequoias Echoes Bipartisan House Effort

Press Release

Today, the National Park Service (NPS) announced that Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks will take emergency actions designed to protect Giant Sequoias from catastrophic wildfire in 11 groves. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), House Committee on Natural Resources Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and U.S. Reps. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), David Valadao (R-Calif.) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) issued the following joint statement in response:

"After visiting the Giant Sequoias earlier this year and seeing wildfire devastation firsthand, we introduced the bipartisan Save Our Sequoias Act to protect these iconic trees before fires even begin. Our legislation would declare an emergency in the Giant Sequoia groves and equip NPS officials with essential management tools to proactively and comprehensively make Giant Sequoias more resilient against future wildfires. We are pleased NPS is administratively implementing part of the SOS Act with today's announcement. However, protecting Giant Sequoias from fires cannot be piecemeal, which is why we will continue to work to advance the comprehensive SOS Act in the House, building on the momentum of these commonsense actions."

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