Only "We" Can Prevent Mega-Fires
QWR believes the August 4, 2015 report; The Rising Cost
of Fire Operations: Effects on the Forest Service’s Non-Fire Work, gives OHV
recreationists and other public land stakeholders an easy to understand explanation
on how catastrophic mega-fires are burning through agency resources.
This report highlights how funds are diverted from
important accounts that support road/trail maintenance, recreation facilities, restoration
projects, forest planning efforts, and cultivation/utilization of partnerships
as force multipliers.
LINK TO REPORT
On page 2, the report states that the depletion of non-fire
programs to pay for the ever-increasing costs of fire has real implications,
not only for the Forest Service’s restoration work that would help prevent
catastrophic fires, but also for the protection of watersheds and cultural
resources, upkeep of programs and infrastructure that support thousands of
recreation jobs and billions of dollars of economic growth in rural
communities, and support for the range of multiple uses, benefits and ecosystem
services, as well as research, technical assistance, and other programs that
deliver value to the American public.
Prescribed Fire is a Forest Management Tool
On pages 11/12, the report notes the decrease in funding
resulting from increased fire costs has limited the agency’s ability to provide
vital recreational opportunities on NFS lands, which jeopardizes the thousands
of jobs that are part of a growing recreational economy.
Logging is a Forest Management Tool
The agency has been unable to more fully implement
sustainable Recreation, Heritage, and Volunteer Services and Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers
programs to provide consistent, quality recreation opportunities to the public. Reductions in recreation
funding have a direct impact on local economies
supported by these activities, including many small
outfitter and guide businesses that depend on
recreation sites and programs on NFS lands. Additionally,
the Forest Service’s ability to leverage funds and implement projects with partners and volunteers is
constrained by the reductions in funding and staff, substantially affecting
services.
A Shaded Fuel Break is a Forest Management Tool
The report concludes that Congress must address the way
the agency pays for fighting wildfires by supporting legislation that treats
mega-fires as natural disasters such as tornadoes or hurricanes.
QWR believes that approach is worthy of consideration,
but falls short in addressing the underlying cause of these mega-fires and that
is the agency’s inability to engage in substantive, robust, and multi-dimensional
forest health projects. The solution may
be a combination of both concepts?
QWR welcomes comments, criticisms, or observations. Use the comment box so others can benefit
from your comments or send them directly to: damador@quietwarriorracing.com
THIS IS A COMMENT FROM A RETIRED FEDERAL LAND AGENCY EMPLOYEE - Lawsuits to stop logging (resource extraction) and land management actions of federal agencies are purposely designed to make to make fires unmanageable. The intended consequence of which is that agencies use the funding you note in the article. The net result is that the public is locked out of the forest for two reasons; #1, nothing is left since it all burned up, and #2; federal agencies won't open it up if they can't 'manage' the public since all of the rec / O&M etc. funds got spent needlessly in fire activities. We are all in a spiral and headed down the drain in the current paradigm.
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