President Donald Trump is pushing better forest management as a big part of his plan to stop the number of large wildfires that have caused devastation in the western United States in recent years.
In a speech at the White House this past week, the president touted an executive order signed last December promoting more active forest management.
“You can’t have dirty floors. You can’t have fallen trees. After the first 17 months, they say a tree is like a piece of tinder,” said Trump, a Republican.
Wildfires have gotten worse in recent years — burning up a large part of the U.S. Forest Service’s budget in the process.
“The process of cleaning is now really taking precedent. A lot of people are looking at forest management. It’s a word that people didn’t really understand last year, and now they are getting it, and you don’t have to have any forest fires,” Trump said.
Montana Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines was at the White House and agreed with the president.