PRESS RELEASE: Vermonters Hold Senator Welch Accountable to Broken Promises at "Fix Your Vote" Rally in Burlington

Welch hands public lands to Trump Administration, puts National Forests across the US at risk, by joining MAGA Republicans in support of misnamed "Fix Our Forests Act"

Vermonters turned out for the "Fix Your Vote" rally in Burlington on Wednesday, demanding that Sen Welch make good on his promise to oppose the so-called "Fix Our Forests Act," which could soon be voted on by the Senate. Photo: Zack Porter

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 19th, 2026

MEDIA CONTACTS

Zack Porter

Executive Director, Standing Trees

(802) 552-0160

zporter@standingtrees.org

Katayoun Lam

Organizing Co-Director, 350VT

(802) 324-8939

Click here for photos for press use.

BURLINGTON, VT - On Wednesday, February 18, environmental advocates and community members gathered outside Senator Peter Welch’s (D-VT) office at 199 Main Street in Burlington to call on the Senator to “Fix his Vote” rather than support the dangerous “Fix our Forests” Act (FOFA), S.1462, which takes aim at National Forests across the US, including Vermont’s Green Mountain National Forest. 

“Senator Welch turned his back on Vermonters and all Americans who care about public lands, endangered species, and our fragile democracy by supporting FOFA, which hands more power to the Trump Administration, and more public resources to private industry,” said Zack Porter, Executive Director of Standing Trees. “Public forests don’t need to be ‘fixed’ by industrial logging — and Senator Welch has a chance to fix his credibility by opposing FOFA if the bill comes to a vote before the full Senate.”

Last year, hundreds of local constituents and 160 organizations from across the US, representing millions of members, contacted Sen. Welch urging him to oppose FOFA if it came to a vote in the Senate Agriculture Committee, because the legislation hands power to the Trump Administration and expands public lands logging while cutting the public, tribes, and sound science out of decisionmaking. Welch responded with a clear, written, statement that "the Fix Our Forest Act misses the mark” and that he “cannot support this bill as written.” Nevertheless, on October 21, despite any substantive changes to the bill, Welch joined every Republican member of the Senate Agriculture Committee to approve the legislation and advance it to the full Senate, where a vote could be imminent.

"The Fix Our Forests Act promises more logging in Vermont's Green Mountain National Forest and National Forests across the US, threatening our water, our climate, Indigenous culture and our non-human relatives," said Earl Hatley of the Ottauquechee Water Protectors Association. "As an indigenous person who works to protect the headwaters of the Ottauquechee River, I am deeply offended that Senator Welch broke his promises to Vermonters and joined MAGA Republicans in support of this reckless legislation that commodifies our sacred lands and hands more power to Trump."

At a time of accelerating ecological crisis and besieged democratic institutions, rally organizers warned that the “Fix our Forests” Act would only make things worse.

Katayoun Lam, Organizing Co-Director at 350Vermont, pointed to FOFA’s consequences both for the climate and democratic process: “The Fix Our Forests act masquerades as an attempt to increase wildfire preparedness while instead stripping the ability of people to engage in public comments, hold the government accountable, and be a part of the democratic process. This serves to streamline the ability of government agencies to log public and tribal lands with little to no oversight. Keeping forests intact and allowing them to grow old is an essential part of mitigating the climate crisis, and allowing people’s voices to be heard, especially the voices of those most affected by climate disasters, is essential for our democracy.”

Ashley Adams, a long-time Burlington resident working to retire the McNeil biomass plant, warned that Burlington offers a preview of what could come with the passage of FOFA: "Burlingtonians live every day with McNeil, a costly, inefficient wood-burning plant that annually pumps hundreds of thousands of tons of carbon into the atmosphere. The Fix our Forests Act would add fuel to the fire of the so-called 'biomass industry' — making it even easier to extract carbon from public forests and put it straight into the air, all at public expense. To prevent climate-fueled disasters like urban megafires, we need to let public forests grow and absorb as much carbon as possible — not cut them down faster than ever."

University of Vermont student Mathilda Ramos-Williams reflected: “Growing up in New Jersey, I witnessed firsthand what overdevelopment and overmanagement can do to once-intact forests. The public forests we have left are irreplaceable to me and so many other young people, as well as to the ecology of our planet. Young people are counting on Senator Welch to protect these places for future generations — not hand them over to private industry.”

In addition to taking a stand against the Fix our Forests Act, rally-goers used songs, speeches, and a skit to bring focus to other opportunities New England congresspeople have to champion public lands. Speakers highlighted the protections afforded by the Roadless Areas Conservation Act, and the common sense wildfire safety measures contained in the Community Protection and Wildfire Resilience Act. A growing number of legal experts and scientists have opined on the dangers of FOFA. FOFA was passed by the US House of Representatives in early 2025. A vote on FOFA is expected soon in the US Senate.

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Standing Trees is a grassroots membership organization that works to protect and restore New England’s forests for the benefit of the climate, clean water and biodiversity, with a focus on state and federal public lands in New Hampshire and Vermont. For more information, visit standingtrees.org or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.