Rep. Scott Tipton introduced legislation that would give states increased power over forest management to reduce the conditions that lead to wildfires.
The Healthy Forest Management Act gives governors the authority to designate high-risk areas within the National Forest System and lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management, and develop emergency hazardous fuels-reduction projects for those areas in consultation with county governments.
"What we've seen over the last two decades is a trend in federal forest management that dedicates the majority of available resources toward reacting to wildfires after they've started, rather than getting out in front of hazardous conditions and taking proactive steps to mitigate the drivers of catastrophic wildfire before it's too late," Tipton said. "This bipartisan legislation is based on the principle that states, counties and tribes are the local experts on the forests in their areas, and can quickly identify the areas that pose the greatest risk for wildfire and expedite projects to reduce the occurrence of wildfire."
Tipton also is co-sponsoring the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act, which is under consideration by the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry. This legislation seeks to amend discretionary spending under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to support wildfire suppression operations.
Sens. Cory Gardner and Michael Bennet also are co-sponsoring the Senate's version of the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act, which would allow the U.S. Forest Service to access the pre-existing disaster fund used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to adequately respond to wildfires.
While responses to other natural disasters can draw money from an emergency fund, wildfire suppression budgets are based on their average costs for the past 10 years, which often results in underfunding.
Michael Cipriano is a student at American University in Washington, D.C., and an intern for The Durango Herald.
