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U.S.
Senator Member: Finance, Agriculture, Energy, Ethics and Aging Committees |
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For Immediate
Release Thursday , February 14, 2008 |
CONTACT:Stephanie Valencia – 202-228-3630 |
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| Sen. Salazar Presses Forest Service on Underfunding Forest Health and Bark Beetle Scourge WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held an oversight hearing to review the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request for the United States Forest Service. As a member of the Committee, United States Senator Ken Salazar questioned USDA Undersecretary Mark Rey and Forest Service Chief Gail Kimbell on the funding cuts to the U.S. Forest Service and how they expect to address forest health in the coming year and in particular the bark beetle infestation in Colorado. Colorado is home to 11 National Forests and 2 National Grasslands managed by the Forest Service. These lands consist of 14.5 million acres, representing about 20 percent of all Colorado land. “With the recent bark beetle infestation, forest health and management are of the upmost importance to Colorado,” said Senator Salazar. “ Despite the clear threat to Colorado's forests posed by the bark beetle scourge, we continue to see funding cuts for the important programs that can help the state address the problem. My concern is that with the proposed cuts, the Forest Service is not going to be able to maintain current management practices, let alone improve our forests, and it sends the wrong message to our state and local partners in this effort.” The President’s proposed budget for the Forest Service totals $4.55 billion in discretionary funds, a 22 percent reduction from last year. Region Two of the U.S. Forest Service, which includes Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas, would experience an 11.2 percent cut in funding. Funding for critically important programs like Hazardous Fuels Reduction were cut by 4 percent and State Fire Assistance Program, which provides financial assistance to State Foresters for all fire management activities, was decreased by 23 percent in the President’s Budget. At the hearing, Senator Salazar presented the following: “On January 14, the United States Forest Service (USFS) announced the results of its 2007 aerial surveys of Colorado forests. The surveys confirmed that Colorado’s bark beetle infestation has spread to one and a half million acres. Experts agree that in three to five years the mortality rate for Colorado’s mature lodgepole pines will be no less than 90 percent. “The threat of a catastrophic fire due to these poor forest health conditions is real and it could result in lost lives and property as well as damage to regionally important watersheds and Colorado’s way of life. This threat has united a diverse set of stakeholders in Colorado to actively address this issue. Private landowners, local communities, the State of Colorado, and the Federal government are working to collaboratively mitigate the fire dangers associated with deteriorating forest health conditions. This effort is making incremental progress, but most agree that a limiting factor in the mitigation work is the funding available. “I would like to acknowledge that USDA and the Forest Service has been working with me and the Colorado delegation to reprogram available funding to Region Two and Colorado, when available. This funding has been used to avoid cuts to ongoing hazardous fuels work on the ground as our local communities address the impacts of the bark beetle infestation. So, thank you for that attention Undersecretary Rey and Chief Kimbell- I look forward to continuing to work with you both on this issue. “I do want to note my concern that the Forest Service is not going to be able to maintain, let alone improve, our forests with a budget that is a 22 percent decrease from last year and a 13.5 percent decrease from 2001. I think cutting Colorado’s region two budget by 11 percent sends the wrong message to our partners at the state and local level. “Undersecretary Rey, your testimony rightly focuses on the growing cost of fire suppression and its increased allocation in the Forest Service budget. It is clear to me that as the ten year average suppression cost is placed into the budget it exerts tremendous funding pressure on other core Forest Serve activities. This committee has examined suppression costs and efforts to reduce them in the past and I believe we must continue to work on this issue. “Legislatively, I believe there is an opportunity for the Energy & Natural Resources Committee to consider legislative proposals that would provide the USFS with increased resources and authorities to play a larger role in mitigation efforts underway across the country. “For instance, mirroring the collaboration taking place in our state, the Colorado Congressional delegation drafted the bipartisan, consensus Colorado Forest Management Improvement Act to facilitate greater federal participation in the response to the bark beetle infestation in our state. Senator Allard and I introduced this bill in the Senate, and our colleagues on the House side introduced companion legislation. While the provisions in The Colorado Forest Management Improvement Act are specific to Colorado, they can be broadened to complement a regional or national legislative effort. “Another important proposal is the Forest Landscape Restoration Act, developed by Chairman Bingaman and Senator Domenici. I co-sponsored this legislation to encourage and fund collaborative forest health efforts on the landscape scale. “I look forward
to working on these initiatives with my colleagues on the committee
and the Forest Service. Again, thank you to our witnesses and thank
you to Senators Bingaman and Domenici who have been real champions on
these tough issues.” ###
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