Subcommittee Reviews National Fire Plan Implementation
(March 28, 2001)
The Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition, and Forestry Subcommittee of the House Agriculture convened its first hearing of the year this afternoon. Representatives of various forestry agencies appeared before the Subcommittee to discuss the implementation of the National Fire Plan.
Subcommittee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) stated, "We cannot afford to have another fire season like the one we just witnessed. The achievement of the National Fire Plan will depend on the success of federal, state and local partnerships. The Congress and Administration will continue to ensure that there is effective local and community participation in the decision-making process as we look to preserve our national treasures. I am confident that the National Fire Plan will solve our nation's growing forest wildfire threat."
Slow recognition of the need for proactive efforts to reduce fire risk has led to 72 million acres of National Forest lands being placed at high risk of damage due to fire. Congress recognized the need for renewed management of the national forests and committed $2.9 billion in the FY 2001 Appropriations bill for USDA and the Department of the Interior. This appropriation led to the creation of the National Fire Plan (the Plan).
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID), while filling in for Chairman Goodlatte said, "I appreciated having the chance to hear directly from those charged with carrying out the National Fire Plan and those who had to contend with last year's devastating fire season. It is imperative that the federal government does everything in its power to aggressively implement the National Fire Plan and remove barriers that might stand in the way of successfully reducing the enormous fuel loads plaguing our National Forests."
Testifying before the Committee, Mr. Lyle Laverty, Associate Deputy Chief and National Fire Plan Coordinator of the Forest Service, USDA, explained the progress that has been made within the five primary goals of the Plan. These are:
1) Firefighting readiness. The focus is on increasing capability and capacity for initial attack, extended attack, and large fire support. The Forest Service has hired over 850 new employees and plans to hire a total of over 2,750. Plans are being made to acquire new fire engines, aircraft, and to construct new fire facilities.
2) Rehabilitation and Restoration. Long-term rehabilitation and restoration is currently underway on over 400 projects. These activities include reforestation, replacement or repair of minor facilities, treatment of invasive species resulting from fire, and restoration of critical habitat and impacted trails.
3) Hazardous fuel Reduction. Hazardous fuel reduction has been completed on over 400,000 acres of the 1.8 million acres that are planned for treatment this fiscal year. Technical and financial support will also be provided to State and local fire departments to implement 329 projects to improve condition on wildland-urban interface areas on non-federal lands.
4) Community Assistance. Programs such as FIREWISE are being used to assist State and local communities educate homeowners about the risk of fire to homes and private property. It is expected that implementation of the Plan can create over 8,000 new jobs in rural areas and provide economic assistance for rural forest dependent communities.
5) Accountability. Tracking funding and accomplishments is a key component to ensuring accountability. The Forest Service is finalizing a database that will track projects funded by Title IV funds. This will include project accomplishments and funding for work in hazardous fuels reduction, rehabilitation, and community assistance.
The following actions have been identified by the Forest Service as being the next steps in the implementation of the Plan:
· Complete the fuels management projects underway and continue planning for 2002 focusing fuels treatments in wildland-urban interface areas where they are most likely to reduce risk effectively.
· Continue to work on a long-term strategy for the Plan in collaboration with Governors and other stakeholders.
· Complete the hiring of new fire personnel to produce an extremely high level of firefighting capability.
· Complete the analysis of fire risk and integrate with other resource information to prioritize treatment areas.