It’s the worst kept secret that federal forestland in the West is too often in a state of very poor health — dry and overstocked with fuel. We’ve witnessed the results of those unhealthy conditions over the last two summers in the form of consecutive record-breaking wildfire seasons.
Making matters worse, when catastrophic wildfires rage they quickly burn through federal money allocated for suppression. “Fire borrowing” — drawing against budgets for federal forest health restoration and management — is a practice born of necessity that some in Congress have been working to reform.
Three members of Washington’s delegation to the U.S. House — Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Spokane), Dan Newhouse (R-Yakima) and Dave Reichert (R-Auburn) — recently signed an op-ed renewing their call to change how we fund firefighting at the federal level and to prioritize restoring the health of federally managed forests
From the Wenatchee World:
Although the dry summer air has been replaced by rain and snow, the damage caused by Washington wildfires continues to increase in the form of flooding and landslides. These fires have had lasting impacts on the people who were displaced and the communities who have been burdened by the costs of rebuilding. …
We do not want next summer to be another one for the record books. That is why we are working proactively in Congress now to implement measures that would help prevent future wildfires and better assist communities hit the hardest by natural disasters. …
One of the most promising strategies to prevent and contain wildfires is restoring the health of our forests. For decades, inadequate federal forest management has allowed our forests to become overgrown, disease ridden, and vulnerable to wildfires. This lapse in forest management programs is partially a result of a failed funding model. Currently, emergency wildfire response does not have the same budget process as other natural disaster responses, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods.
Throughout most of the last decade, year after year the U.S. Forest Service has exhausted funds allocated for wildfire suppression long before the fire season has ended, forcing them to dip into other accounts intended for forest health and management activities. …
Realizing this dangerous cycle, we have supported measures in Congress that would clean up our fire-prone forests and strengthen our management programs. We are cosponsors of the Wildfire Disaster Fund Act (H.R. 167) which ends the Forest Service fire borrowing and treats wildfire response budgets just like every other natural disaster. …
Specifically, this legislation would make it easier and less costly for the Forest Service and stakeholders to collaborate in responsible timber harvesting efforts, which is an important part of wildfire prevention and can provide additional economic opportunities for our rural communities. …
Read the entire op-ed at the Wenatchee World >>
