Editor's note: We would like to thank Senator Crapo, Senator Risch, Congressman Simpson, and Congressman Labrador for their support of the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act of 2014 (H.R. 3992, S. 1875).
by Bas Hargrove, senior policy representative
Two weeks ago, the wildfire smoke rolled into Boise for the
first time this year in what seems to have become an annual rite of summer. Even
though AirNow.gov said our air quality was fine for healthy people to be active
outdoors, I could feel the smoke in my eyes and throat on my bike to work.
So it seems timely to talk about the Wildfire Disaster
Funding Act of 2014. It’s a bill in Congress right now that is a big priority
for The Nature Conservancy nationally and here in Idaho. Not only do all four
members of our delegation support the legislation, but Senator Crapo and Representative
Simpson are lead sponsors. It’s a bill that will change the way the federal
government pays for, and prepares for, the annual wildfire season. Even better,
the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office found that the bill will not
increase spending.
Simply put, the legislation would fund emergency wildfires like other national emergencies, ensuring that forest and conservation programs are not raided when firefighting funds are depleted.
How does the federal government pay for addressing disasters
like hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes? There’s an agency called the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with access to a disaster relief fund set
aside just for catastrophes. We don’t know when or where these floods,
hurricanes, or tornadoes will hit, but there’s a law in place that allows FEMA
to tap special funds to help deal with these disasters.
What about paying for catastrophic wildfires? Congress gives the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) an annual firefighting budget based on the 10-year average of suppression costs. Sounds reasonable right? Well, what happens when we have a “big” fire year and the costs start piling on? Do you smell smoke? That’s the scent of the Forest Service and BLM burning through their non-firefighting budgets, meant to pay for things like preventing future catastrophic fires.
When they go over the suppression budget, USFS and BLM have
to start “borrowing” money from that year’s non-firefighting accounts for things
like preventing hazardous fuel buildup around houses in the wildland urban
interface. Because the intensity and cost of wildfires has risen dramatically,
this borrowing has happened 8 of the last 10 years. Robbing these accounts year
after year means that important forest management projects don’t get done,
leaving unhealthy forests that are more susceptible to expensive catastrophic
wildfires.
The Wildfire Disaster Funding Act would treat catastrophic
wildfires like other natural disasters and make catastrophic wildfire
suppression eligible for similar disaster funding. Under the bill, routine
wildland firefighting costs, which make up about 70% of the cost of wildfire
suppression, would continue to be funded through the normal appropriations
process. The true emergency fire events, which represent about 1% of wildland
fires but make up 30% of costs, would be treated like similar natural disasters
and funded through disaster programs.
This is a good bill that the Conservancy will continue to
work on, and that hopefully Congress will see fit to pass. In the meantime, we
can only hope that this year’s firefighting costs don’t spread out of control
and burn through the rest of the budget for taking care of our public lands.