In a press release on September 17, 2020, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) announced the introduction of legislation to help prevent catastrophic wildfires.

The National Prescribed Fire Act of 2020 would support pre-fire season controlled burns as an essential, science-based strategy for reducing hazardous fuels to mitigate the worst effects of wildfire. The legislation would increase the pace and scale of controlled burns, create a technically skilled preseason controlled burn workforce, and give states more flexibility to regulate controlled burns in winter months to reduce catastrophic fires and dangerous smoke in the summer. 

University of Oregon Senior Policy Advisor of the Ecosystem Workforce Program and Research Professor Cassandra Moseley was quoted in the press release: “Science has made clear that we need to get more fire on the ground at the right place and time. This bill addresses workforce limitations and fosters interagency collaboration that research has shown are barriers to prescribed fire.”

Dr. Moseley is an academic expert in natural resource policy, including forest, wildfire, bioenergy, rural development policy and federal land management. She has studied the changing face of wildfire management in the West and has a particular focus on how natural resource policies affect rural communities, businesses and workers, including migrant forest workers.

More about Dr. Moseley’s research can be found here.