Source: Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Republican Sen. Steve Daines addressed expectations on first responders, wildfire and the Cottonwood decision at the Montana Professional Firefighters Convention in Bozeman Monday.
The senator opened his remarks to a room full of firefighters from across the state by describing how Bozeman and Gallatin County have changed over the years.
Daines said that the area has grown since he grew up in Bozeman — now there are more than 50,000 people in the city and more than 100,000 in Gallatin County.
“The expectations of people that we serve together have changed a lot,” Daines said.
Daines talked about the Putting First Responders First Act, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden last year.
The act amends IRS code to prevent audits and allow for tax exemptions on first responders’ disability benefits after retirement. The bill was passed with an effective date of 2026, but Daines said that he got a commitment from the commissioner of the IRS that the bill would be enforced this year.
While many of the firefighters in the room often responded to calls within cities and towns on a day-to-day basis, Daines noted that many would have to respond to calls to deal with wildfires.
The senator touted the Bipartisan Wildfire Caucus that he and Democratic Sen. Diane Feinstein launched earlier this year. That caucus, which includes members from both chambers and sides of the aisle from California, Utah and Colorado, was started to find solutions to wildfire issues.
One of those issues Daines spoke about during the convention was the reversal of the Cottonwood decision, a 2015 court ruling that requires the U.S. Forest Service to re-consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service when new information indicates a Forest Service plan might harm a federally protected species.
Reversing the decision has long been part of Daines’ slate of forest management priorities. Democratic Sen. Jon Tester has also backed the idea.
Proponents of the Cottonwood decision have said it’s a way to protect critical wildlife habitat from modifications whenever an agency wants to log or adopt a new forest plan.
Daines said that his bill aimed at reversing the Ninth Circuit Court’s 2015 ruling, which moved out of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, would allow forest projects that have “languished for many, many years,” to move forward.
“Either we’re going to better manage our forests, or forests are going to manage us and that’s sadly what we see virtually every fire season now,” Daines said.