Sen. Kennedy outreach officer briefs Clawson council on wildfire and public-lands bills

Ron Dunn, an outreach officer from U.S. Sen. Kennedy’s office, told the Clawson Town Council that Congress is considering legislation meant to ease jurisdictional barriers that hamper wildfire response and that federal rules governing Staircase Escalante are under review.

Dunn said the ‘‘Fix Our Forests’’ bill is moving through Congress and that his office has filed a patch called the ‘‘Torch Act’’ to address cases in which firefighters could not cross jurisdictional boundaries to fight large fires. "This addresses that," he said, describing the patch as intended to let local or invited out-of-state crews assist more effectively.

He also described ongoing use of the Congressional Review Act to review recent federal rules that tightened restrictions at Staircase Escalante, saying Congress may consider a joint resolution to rescind the rules and return to the previous status quo. "Congress now gets to determine if that rule will continue," he said.

The presentation was informational: Dunn did not ask the council to take a specific local action but said his office remains engaged with public-lands, natural-resources and tribal issues in the region. He framed the Torch Act as a targeted fix to an operational problem firefighters faced during last year’s large fires.

The council did not take formal action on federal legislation. Dunn’s remarks were made during the guest-business portion of the meeting and the council invited him to remain and talk with residents afterward.

Next steps: Dunn said his office would continue outreach in the district; no local legislative steps were proposed by the council at the meeting.