House subcommittee hears bill to add Utah to Southwest Ecological Restoration Institute network
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Summary
A House Natural Resources subcommittee heard testimony on legislation to add Utah to the Southwest Ecologically Restoration Institute network and on the need for sustained federal funding for wildfire research and local forest management.
The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands on Wednesday considered HR 1045, the Utah Wildfire Research Institute Act of 2025, which would amend the Southwest Forest Health and Wildfire Prevention Act of 2004 to add Utah to the network of Southwest Ecological Restoration Institutes (SWERIs).
Representative John Kennedy, sponsor of HR 1045, told the subcommittee the bill "amends that act with inclusion of Utah as a state that has one of these institutes" and said Utah State University has already authorized and provided startup funding for a Utah institute.
The bill’s proponents said a Utah institute would produce place‑based science to guide management in the state’s mix of forest and woodland types. Larissa Yocom, director of the Utah Forest Restoration Institute and an associate professor at Utah State University, said the state is "behind many of our neighbors in determining which management tools work best for Utah's forests and woodlands" and argued a local SWERI would provide "healthier forest, safer communities, a stronger workforce, and a more informed public." Yocom also noted a companion Senate bill, S.457, introduced by Senator Mike Lee.
Subcommittee members and agency witnesses emphasized that designation alone will not create research capacity without appropriations. Representative Joe Neguse said he is "very concerned" about the Forest Service’s proposed cuts that would reduce funding for SWERI programs and other research lines, warning such reductions threaten existing institutes and any new additions. John Crockett, deputy chief for State, Private and Tribal Forestry at the U.S. Forest Service, said the agency "supports" the bill’s goal and working with state universities but repeated that federal funding and staffing determine whether institutes can deliver sustained, on‑the‑ground research.
Advocates and witnesses described concrete local conditions motivating the bill: Representative Kennedy said more than 190,000 Utah residents live in areas considered high risk for wildfire, and Yocom said Utah’s mixture of pinyon‑juniper woodlands and mixed conifer forests requires research distinct from ponderosa‑pine studies elsewhere in the Four Corners region. Witnesses urged that any federal designation be followed by "sustained appropriations" so the institute can respond quickly when managers need research and monitoring.
No formal action was taken at the hearing; members asked questions and the record was held open for additional submissions.
If enacted, the legislation would amend the 2004 Southwest Forest Health and Wildfire Prevention Act to authorize an additional SWERI in Utah; any federal support for operations would depend on future appropriations by Congress.