Press Release

Gov. Hull said President Bush's trip to Arizona "sends a message to the country that this shouldn't be going on." She said she was pleased that the President recognized the magnitude of the forest fire crisis, which sometimes is lost in the vastness of the West. "One of the people commented the other day that if it was Rhode Island, Massachusetts and a couple of other states in the East burning, everything possible would be done to ensure it never happens again."

Gov. Hull also commented that the release by the Federal Emergency Management Agency of $20 million for Arizona use is a "mere drop in the bucket" of what will be needed to recover from the damage caused when fires caused the evacuation of more than 25,000 people and burned houses and forests. "The Forest Service and every other agency are doing an outstanding job preventing even greater tragedy."

Hull said the issue of forest ecosystem health and forest fires is not a new one for Western Governors. And the incoming chairman of the Western Governors' Association, Judy Martz of Montana, confirmed that the issue will be her top priority for the next year.

"Regardless of our political and philosophical differences, it's imperative that we all join together to act responsibly in preserving forest health, to protect families, wildlife, fisheries, our ecosystem and our economies," Martz said. "And that's why next year, as chairman of the Western Governors, forest health will be my number one issue."

Gov. Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho, lead Western Governor on Forest Health, commented on an implementation plan for reducing wildfire risks over the next 10 years. The document was signed by Western Governors and the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior last month in Idaho City, Idaho. "The key is not to always be looking at suppression, but to look at prevention. With the 10-year plan, that we signed in Idaho City, Idaho, we have a path forward reducing the fuel load so we won't have to see these sort of infernos taking place in all of our states."

Gov. Jim Geringer, Wyoming, pointed out, "There's a difference between fires that are so devastating that they have almost a permanent impact and fires that are used for good, solid, balanced ecological maintenance in forests. The message to be learned from the Colorado fires, the fire here in Arizona, is that there are long-term solutions that take a long time to implement. And if we don't start now and set aside a lot of the gridlock, the bickering that's going on, no good will come of it. We have to learn from a crisis in order to avoid what could and should be done in the future. Timbering is a factor in the overall ecological health of the system, and well-managed prescribed fire is a tool that can and should be employed."

Gov. Mike Leavitt of Utah emphasized the regional importance of dealing with forest health. "The potential of this inferno nightmare exists throughout the entire West and has for decades. When this fire has concluded, we have to focus on the larger issue for a longer period -- the undergrowth, the disease, the decay, clearly call for us to begin to invest not just today but in preventing this kind of nightmare from happening all over the West. We feel a sense of confidence that, with action, we can mitigate this calamity in other places."

Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico referred to the historic use of fire to keep forests from being compacted tinder kegs. "What the Western Governors have talked about is just simply that we've got to clean up these areas. The interface, the forest around cities, at a minimum, need to be cleaned up so that we don't see this complete devastation of the forests along with the dwellings that go along with it. I would like to point out that the Western governors have taken a lead over the years on drought policy. And right now before the Congress is a drought policy bill that the Western Governors have taken a lead on. Among other things, it would allow federal managers to preposition fire-suppression equipment. So even when fires do start, we will be able to put them out more quickly. That bill should pass the U.S. Congress in the upcoming months."

The Western Governors' Association is an independent, nonprofit organization representing the governors of 18 states and three U.S.-Flag islands in the Pacific. 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.

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