State Senator Dave Cox has an op-ed in today's Sacramento Bee, calling for an appeal to the United States Supreme Court of the recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that restricts the U.S. Forest Service's ability to reduce the risk of wildfires in and near urban areas.  The ruling stated that the Forest Service must get an Environmental Impact Report before thinning forests.

Senator Cox writes:

The 9th Circuit's decision is extremely frustrating as it did not take into consideration the fire safety needs to reduce the risk of wildfires near homes.

...

Officials have made great progress to work with all stakeholders to protect residents living near national forests from wildfires. This ruling is a setback for California.

It is my hope that the U.S. attorney's office acting on behalf of the U.S. Forest Service will take further action and appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Check out the whole column here.