Hirono, colleagues introduce bipartisan bill to promote wildfire mitigation through grazing

US Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) on Friday announced her support for the bipartisan Wildfire Resilience Through Grazing Research Act, introduced alongside Sens. Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jerry Moran (R-KS) and James Lankford (R-OK). The bill aims to promote research on using grazing as a strategy to mitigate wildfires, reduce fuel loads and support post-fire recovery efforts.

“As the people of Lahaina continue to recover from the devastating wildfires in 2023, we recognize just how necessary it is to pre-emptively reduce wildfire risk,” Hirono said. “As wildfires occur with increasing frequency across the country, this legislation is a crucial step to help strengthen community resilience by studying the implementation of grazing as a strategy for reducing vegetation that can fuel wildfires. I’m glad to join my colleagues in introducing this important bill to help prevent wildfires and protect our communities.”

The bill seeks to expand on successful pilot programs in several states where grazing animals like goats and cattle have been used to manage highly flammable vegetation, including grasses and shrubs, which can fuel the spread of wildfires. These pilot programs have reported successful vegetation reduction, but limited scientific research has been conducted on optimal grazing land management techniques that also protect against other environmental harms.

To address this gap, the Wildfire Resilience Through Grazing Research Act would add the “Grazing for Wildfire Mitigation Initiative” to the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s High-Priority Research List.

Key provisions of the bill include:

• Support research and development of grazing land management techniques for wildfire mitigation and recovery by driving research at land-grant colleges and universities like the University of California system, Kansas State University, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and Oklahoma State University.
• Promote the dissemination of information on these wildlife grazing land management techniques to public and private landowners, land managers and livestock owners, including land management activities that protect against negative environmental impacts and improve soil health.

This legislation has garnered support from environmental organizations such as the Environmental Defense Fund and The Nature Conservancy.

The full text of the legislation is available here.