As a result, we must change the way we think. We can no longer just “fight fire;” effective preparedness is essential for protecting the thousands of communities at risk, the forest-based industries that support our rural economies, and the critical watersheds that sustain our cities.
It isn't a brand-new problem. In 2000, Congress asked governors to develop a strategy to deal with the increase in wildfires. In 2002, the Western Governors' Association developed the report: “A Collaborative Approach for Reducing Wildland Fire Risks to Communities and the Environment.” It proposed a 10-year strategy with four important goals:
- Reduce hazardous fuels
- Restore fire-adapted ecosystems
- Promote community assistance
All worthy goals, but without adequate support from the administration and from Congress, we have fallen short. The majority of money spent on wildfire management this decade has gone only toward the first goal, prevention and suppression. The other equally important missions have never been fully addressed, and today, we remain behind the wildfire curve.
Sadly, the goals of the 10-year strategy will not be attended to until we fix the funding mechanism currently in place. Firefighting monies provided in the federal government's FY07 Emergency Supplemental Budget (PL-110-28) provided only a short-term funding solution for the U.S. Forest Service and Department of the Interior. It did not provide the all-important, long-term budget solution.
Western governors believe the current suppression-oriented budget system limits the collective capacity to prevent, prepare and suppress wildland fire. We need a new federal wildfire suppression funding mechanism that will allow us to make critical investments in forest health, fuels management and community preparedness - activities that make our communities safer.
Let us be clear: We cannot abandon suppression efforts. But Western governors believe it is equally cost effective, more efficient and safer to thin forests and protect communities in advance of a wildfire, than it is to control wildfires and repair the damage after the fact.
Providing enough money for suppression operations is central, but separate congressional investment in the Forest Service and Interior Department budgets is key to solving long-term budget issues, and essential to the long-term survival of our forest land.
Janet Napolitano is the governor of Arizona, while Jon Huntsman Jr. is Utah's governor.
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