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Press Release |
Long-term Funding Urged to Reduce Catastrophic
Wildfire Risk, Improve Forest Ecosystems
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 27, 2001
Contact: Karen Deike or Paul Orbuch 303-623-9378
| Washington, D.C. -- Western governors in a meeting
today with Secretary of Interior Gale Norton and other administration
officials said they will seek long-term funding from Congress and the
administration to reduce the risk of repeating the catastrophic wildfires
that raged across the West last year by improving overall forest and
rangeland ecosystem health.
More than seven million acres of state, federal and private land was burned last year, most of it in the West. Since then, states have been working collaboratively with federal agencies to develop a 10-year strategy to reduce the risk of wildfires. The draft plan and long-term funding to implement it were discussed with Secretary Norton and officials from the Department of Agriculture, Office of Management and Budget and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Congress approved $1.8 billion for this fiscal year to manage the fuel load, restore fire-damaged lands, support fire preparedness and provide state and rural fire assistance. The governors are seeking significant funding for the 2002 budget year, the first year state pilot projects will be implemented. "The partnership is there, but now we need the tools," said Gov. Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho, Chairman of the Western Governors’ Association. "It will take a sustained effort and consistent funding to prevent a repeat of last year’s devastating fires, especially if drought conditions persist as expected." Governors said the problems can be especially critical in what is known as the wildland/urban interface. Kempthorne said, "had it not been for a wind shift during last year’s fires in Idaho, we would have lost some small communities, and we would have lost human life." A copy of the draft Ten-year Comprehensive Strategy is available on the WGA Web site. Comments will be accepted through April 6. The target date for completing the plan is May 1. The Western Governors’ Association is an independent, nonprofit organization representing the governors of 18 states, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Through their Association, the Western governors identify and address key policy and governance issues in natural resources, the environment, human services, economic development, international relations and public management. Information on the association is available on the Web at www.westgov.org.
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