As smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to drift across parts of the United States, forestry experts say Canada could reduce the severity of some fires through more aggressive forest management.
The issue reached the White House Friday, with President Donald Trump accusing Canada of failing to properly manage its forests and threatening to factor the economic cost of the smoke into tariffs on Canadian imports.
“We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He said he planned to call Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and accused Canada of refusing to engage in “basic Forest Management and Debris Removal,” calling it “Willful Negligence.”
TRUMP SHOULD EXPAND HIS BORDER CRACKDOWN. TIMING IS PERFECT TO REIN IN CANADA AND MEXICO
Andrew Hale, a Canadian fellow at Advancing American Freedom, argued that Canadas wildfire policies have failed to prioritize forest management.
“Canada has a policy of not keeping reservoirs. They also will not cut firebreaks and will not thin their forests,” Hale told Fox News Digital. “This is the result of the undue influence of environmental groups who are firmly politically motivated and have divorced themselves from science and good stewardship. Canada and the rest of North America is suffering as a result,” he said.
Earlier this week, four Republican members of Michigan’s congressional delegation â Reps. Jack Bergman, John James, Lisa McClain and John Moolenaar â sent a letter to Carney saying residents in their state were once again experiencing unhealthy air because of smoke drifting south from Canadian wildfires.
“We are done accepting apologies in place of action,” the lawmakers wrote, accusing Canada of underinvesting in forest thinning, fuel reduction and prescribed burns while calling for measurable plans to reduce future wildfire smoke crossing the border.
The criticism comes as Canada’s own Senate has reached a similar conclusion on one point: while it says climate change is making wildfire seasons longer and more severe, the country also needs to do substantially more to prepare its forests before fires ignite.
FOX WEATHER CORRESPONDENT BOB VAN DILLEN WEIGHS IN ON EFFECT OF CANADIAN WILDFIRES ON
The Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry released a report in June titled Canada on Fire: The Catastrophic and Escalating Effects of Wildfires on Lives and Communities after holding 17 meetings, hearing testimony from 79 witnesses and receiving 23 written briefs from scientists, government officials, Indigenous leaders and industry experts.
The committee concluded that Canada’s three most recent wildfire seasons demonstrated that climate change was accelerating fire behavior “beyond the capacity of existing systems.” At the same time, it found that prevention efforts have not kept pace with the growing threat.
Much of the report focuses on what experts call “fuel management” â reducing the amount of dry grass, dead trees, fallen branches and other
