The Senate approved the measure 38-2, sending it to the House, where environmental groups are expected to fight it. The legislation says the U.S. Forest Service has ignored requests to clean up overgrown forests that fuel catastrophic fires and therefore has forfeited its jurisdiction. Counties could contract with loggers to remove burned trees or to thin areas they consider hazardous because of thick growth. Fires burned more than 519,000 acres in New Mexico last year. More than 200 structures in Los Alamos were destroyed by a blaze in the Santa Fe National Forest, and 64 homes burned in a wildfire in the Lincoln National Forest.
Fire season is two months off.
Nivison said his county would consider contracting with the Mescalero Apache tribe to cut timber. But environmental groups say there is no guarantee of that. Fires in the Santa Fe area last year caused health problems for residents, kept tourists away and hurt the economy, he said. Sen. William Payne, R-Albuquerque, said he supported the bill but cautioned his colleagues that its wording would cause trouble. An analysis by the attorney general's office said a lengthy court challenge could be expected if the bill became law, and that it is vulnerable on several constitutional grounds.