Jay Inslee: Washington's 1st Congressional District

Issues

Environment

Environmentalists Not Responsible for Forest Fires
"Fifty Years of Bi-partisan Ignorance to Blame"

26 June 2002

Washington, D.C.-- U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, who is the ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health, reacted to the Bush administration's comments that the Arizona wildfire was caused by forest management measures.

"Environmentalism did not cause these forest fires; our failure to understand the necessity of periodic fires coupled with extreme drought caused these fires. For fifty years, Republicans and Democrats have worked together to suppress fires in our forests. We allowed fuel to build up in the forests, and that fuel is one cause of these enormous wildfires. Now in the face of unchecked global warming and drought, these fires ought to be a wake up call to an administration that says all we can do about global warming is to get used to it.

We know now that global warming may result in more hot, dry Arizona weather. We know that Arizona has been experiencing an extreme drought this year. We know that such weather increases the frequency and intensity of wildfires, threatening both property and forests. What we do not know is why the administration is blaming the environmentalists for the fires, rather than working to prevent further global warming in our own country."