Energy and Environment

U.S. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Jerry McNerney (D-CA), and Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) recently introduced the National Wildland Fire Risk Reduction Program Act (H.R. 5781), which seeks to enhance wildfire preparedness, resilience, and response.

Democrats on the U.S. House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis in Washington, D.C., cheered Biden's pledge Tuesday to slash emissions of dangerous methane gases and help stop deforestation in this decade in a series of public statements and social media posts. Oregon Democrat Suzanne Bonamici shared posts from the climate-crisis committee in support of Biden's methane-reduction plans, which are to be implemented through executive agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency.

A delegation of Oregon leaders ⁠— including Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Kurt Schrader, and Peter DeFazio — wrote to the U.S. Department of Commerce urging them to declare a catastrophic regional fishery disaster. Three years of drought in a row have severely impacted the Pacific Northwest's salmon populations.

Much of Oregon's congressional delegation is asking the federal government to declare the effects of three consecutive years of drought a disaster for Chinook salmon fishing. The letter, signed by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and U.S. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici, Peter DeFazio and Kurt Schrader, warns that drought in 2018, 2019 and 2020 has reduced the scale of salmon runs.

On Oct. 26, 2021, on the heels of a five-year campaign spearheaded by North Coast Land Conservancy, the Rainforest Reserve was permanently conserved as a place brimming with critical habitat for a wide array of wildlife and plant species, to help them adapt to a changing world, while also supporting the surrounding communities. "The Rainforest Reserve is a remarkable accomplishment that will significantly benefit our region in many ways," added U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.).