Fire Service

By U.S. Senator Jon Kyl The President recently unveiled his proposed budget for 2009. The budget proposal outlines the operating budget for the entire federal government. I will report to you on parts of the budget that particularly impact Arizona; and this week Id like to concentrate on the proposed funding for the U.S. Forest Service. The President has budgeted $4.109 billion for the Forest Service a seven percent reduction from 2008 funding. There are significant cuts across the board; the most critical are the cuts to hazardous fuel reduction accounts (which the Forest Service has identified as its number one priority). These accounts are funded at $297 million, down from $310 million in 2008. Fire-fighting expenses increase by $148 million to just under $1 billion. Last year, the Forest Service spent $1.4 billion fighting fires nationwide, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The Interior Department spent an additional $450 million. With almost 48 percent of the proposed budget going toward fire fighting, the Forest Service might be more appropriately called the Fire Service. I believe funding for fighting fires must be complemented by adequate funding for preventing them. Proactive management of our forests not only is the best tool in combating wildfires, it is critical to restoring forest health and improving habitats for diverse species. Typically, there are two complimentary methods of treatment: mechanical thinning of brush and smaller diameter trees, and prescribed burning. These treatments open up forests so they are less susceptible to hot crown fires. More importantly, reducing competition for soil nutrients, water, and sunlight immediately enhances the health of the trees, allowing them to grow bigger and fend off diseases and deadly insects like bark beetles. The 2006 February Fire that consumed over 4,000 acres of Tonto National Forest in Arizona highlights our ongoing struggle to adequately prepare for and expeditiously suppress wildfires. It also shows the need to significantly increase the amount of forest acres treated by mechanical thinning and prescribed burning. Had it not been for the previous treatments (and burned areas) in parts of the fires path, the damage would have been far worse. I was pleased to see that this proposed budget includes funding for a pilot project with partners in the Southwest Ecosystem Restoration Institutes to develop and test prioritizing restoration-based fuel reduction treatments. In 2004, I helped draft legislation to create federally-recognized ecological restoration institutes (ERI) to demonstrate and promote the application of forest thinning and other tested treatments to lands at risk of severe wildfires. The Ecological Research Institute at Northern Arizona University received official federal recognition under this legislation, making it one of only three such institutes in the nation. Since the bills enactment in 2004, Ive been fighting to get ERI in the budget, so that Congress does not have to add the funding (we still have to ensure that Congressional appropriations bills include the Presidents budget request). As Arizona prepares to enter its wildfire season, its critically important that the Forest Service has the resources to prevent wildfires before they happen. Its too bad we have to spend more money fighting fires than investing in ecological restoration, which could prevent fires and improve the forest at the same time. I will do what I can through the Congressional appropriations process to ensure that the Forest Service has the resources it needs to both fight and prevent forest fires, as well as carry out all its other important responsibilities.