Press Release

The Western Governors’ Association proposal resulted from a September meeting the governors initiated with Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman to develop a new federal policy in the wake of this summer’s catastrophic wildfires. Members of the House and Senate conference committee working on the Interior Appropriations bill agreed last week to include language in their report memorializing the agreement reached between the bipartisan group of governors and the cabinet secretaries.

The report language "direct[s] the Secretaries [of Agriculture and Interior] to engage Governors in a collaborative structure to cooperatively develop a coordinated, National ten-year comprehensive strategy with the States as full partners in the planning, decision making, and implementation of the plan." The language also states that, "Key decisions should be made at local levels."

WGA’s chairman, Gov. Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho, said congressional and administration approval of this language marks the beginning of a new era in Western lands management.

"This summer, any justification for continuing the status quo forest policy just went up in flames," Kempthorne said. "Clearly, it is time for a new policy. One that’s based upon scientific principles, and one that focuses on forest health.

"I’m pleased that the report language will allow this new strategy to be implemented -- a strategy where states are full partners in the planning, decision-making, and implementation with the federal government. Just as important, it is a strategy that emphasizes key decisions need to be made at the local level, which will mean real changes in the on-the-ground management of federal lands in the West."

Gov. John Kitzhaber of Oregon, WGA's co-lead on fire policy, said today's result was possible because of everyone's recognition that there is a tremendous need to restore the health of many of the West's forest ecosystems.

"The Country's 90 year-old policy of fire suppression has played a significant role in transforming our forest ecosystems to their current condition with their heavy fuel loads," Kitzhaber said. "With the severity of fires that we are seeing, and the number of threatened and endangered species that we are trying to save, it's clear that things are out of balance. The Governors', Administration's, and congressional commitment to a ten-year program devoted to restoring forest ecosystem health and reducing catastrophic fire danger is an exciting statement about our collective commitment to our future."

Gov. Marc Racicot of Montana, WGA's co-lead on fire policy, said the nearly $2 billion appropriated in the bill is a start towards protecting water sources from ash runoff and reseeding burned areas, among other restorative measures. It will also start to reimburse state coffers drained in fighting this year's fires.

"These vital dollars will help our communities begin to recover and repair their forests," Racicot said. "We look forward to working with those communities and our federal partners in immediate restoration and fuel-load reduction. We trust the people on the ground to do the restoration work based on a set of sound scientific principles."

Wyoming Governor Jim Geringer said this long-awaited success followed years of Western governors' efforts to include states and local communities in developing long-term strategies to improve the forest health.

"This year's fires have destroyed critical fish and wildlife habitat, burned homes, set the stage for flooding, erosion and sedimentation, and created health problems for thousands of people," Geringer said. "The only positive thing that has surfaced from the smoke of these fires is the final acknowledgment that we must change what we've been doing to prevent future catastrophes. We as governors appreciate the concerted effort to not let this happen again."

WGA policy resolutions related to this issue are available on the Web at www.westgov.org.

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.