Colorado State Forester Jim Hubbard testified on behalf of the Western Governors’ Association before a joint hearing of the House and Senate subcommittees on Interior appropriations.  The subcommittees conducted an oversight hearing on the status of  $1.8 billion in funding approved for this fiscal year to manage the fuel load, restore fire-damaged lands, support fire preparedness and provide state and rural fire assistance.

Hubbard said individual states are working in cooperation with federal agencies and across traditional jurisdictional boundaries to develop plans and set priorities for responding to fires and to reduce the buildup of materials that fuel those fires.  In addition, the states are jointly working with federal agencies and stakeholders in developing a 10-year comprehensive strategy for restoring forest ecosystem health.  Hubbard said it took more than 100 years to reach the current situation, and it will take a multi-year investment of time, money and people to address.  

“As the Governors have frequently pointed out, this represents a significant shift in the way we traditionally allocate public funds in response to wildland fire,”  Hubbard said.  “Rather than seeking significant emergency supplemental appropriations to ‘cleanup’ after fires, we should be investing dollars up-front in restoring the health of our forest and rangeland ecosystems.”

Hubbard said the intergovernmental collaboration underway did not happen until Congress directed federal agencies last fall to work with the states and provided increased funding for state and private fuels management and wildfire preparedness activities.

“I encourage you, on behalf of the Governors, to continue to provide both of these motivational elements – funding and direction – with the hope that this kind of cooperation will eventually become our standard way of doing business,” Hubbard said.

Hubbard’s testimony and the Ten-year Comprehensive Strategy are available on WGA’s Web site at www.westgov.org.  Comments on the strategy will be accepted through April 6.  The plan is scheduled to be completed by 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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