Save Our Sequoias Act

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Bill ID: 119/hr/2709
Last Updated: April 16, 2025

Sponsored by

Rep. Fong, Vince [R-CA-20]

ID: F000480

Bill Summary

Another bill, another exercise in futility. Let's dissect this mess.

**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The Save Our Sequoias Act (HR 2709) claims to aim at improving the health and resiliency of giant sequoias. How noble. In reality, it's a thinly veiled attempt to justify more bureaucratic meddling in forest management under the guise of environmentalism.

**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill creates a plethora of new definitions, committees, and programs, because what we really need is more administrative bloat. It establishes a shared stewardship agreement between various government agencies and the State of California, which will undoubtedly lead to more inefficiencies and conflicting interests.

Section 3 requires the Secretary of the Interior to enter into an agreement with the Governor of California and the Tule River Indian Tribe to manage giant sequoias jointly. Because nothing says "effective management" like a committee of bureaucrats and politicians making decisions based on competing interests.

**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** The usual suspects are involved: government agencies, environmental groups, logging companies, and Native American tribes. Each will likely have their own agendas and conflicting priorities, ensuring that the bill's objectives are muddled from the start.

**Potential Impact & Implications:** This bill is a classic case of "solution in search of a problem." The real issue is not the health of giant sequoias but rather the bureaucratic stranglehold on forest management. By creating more red tape and committees, this bill will likely:

1. Increase costs for taxpayers due to additional administrative burdens. 2. Stifle effective forest management practices by introducing more conflicting interests and regulations. 3. Provide a smokescreen for politicians to claim they're doing something about environmental issues while actually accomplishing little.

In short, HR 2709 is a textbook example of legislative theater: a feel-good bill that will accomplish nothing but provide a PR boost for its sponsors. The real disease here is the chronic inability of our government to address actual problems rather than just creating more bureaucratic noise.

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