The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a measure that seeks to eliminate obstacles to prescribed fires and other fuels reduction projects.
The Cross-Boundary Wildfire Solutions Act is fairly simple: it directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study obstacles to conducting wildfire mitigation projects on land with multiple owners or jurisdictions. Within two years, the GAO is expected to share its report and recommendations.
“And then from there, eliminate, modify and make the necessary arrangements to ensure that those obstacles no longer exist,” Rep. Joe Neguse, the measure’s sponsor, told the Mountain West News Bureau.
Neguse is hopeful that the measure will make it to President Trump’s desk because of the bipartisan support it enjoyed in the House – where four of its six cosponsors are Republicans.
He said it's just the latest instance of cross-party collaboration on wildfire policy.
“We've been able to get some wins on the board in terms of increasing wildland firefighter pay, taking other steps to invest in wildfire mitigation,” Neguse said. “I think this is yet another example of what can be done when we're willing to negotiate in good faith with people of good faith.”
Earlier this month, U.S Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz appeared before a House subcommittee, where Neguse raised concerns about the scale of prescribed fire and other hazardous fuels mitigation work being done by his agency.
“I think it's an important question that deserves to be answered: why there's a 35% reduction in hazardous fuels treatments in the first year of the Trump administration,” Neguse said.
Schultz acknowledged that there was some dropoff, but called into question the accuracy of the 35% figure. He said what was being done was in keeping with years past.
”When you look at the context in terms of a five-year average, we're right in there last year about where the five-year average was,” he said.
This year, he told Congress that his agency is well on its way toward its goals. As of May, some 2.2 million acres had already been treated – more than 60% of the agency’s fiscal year goal – and 1.6 million of those acres were prescribed fire.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Boise State Public Radio, Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio and KJZZ in Arizona as well as NPR, with support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
