Legislation to reduce wildfire risk
Act would continue funding USDA’s Joint Chiefs Landscape Restoration Partnership
By Sophie Stuber, Telluride Daily Planet Contributor
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and Colorado Rep. Joe Neguse joined Sen. John Hoeven and Rep. Kelly Armstrong to introduce bi-partisan legislation on July 26 to restore landscapes, protect water and lower wildfire risk. The Joint Chiefs Reauthorization Act of 2023 would renew the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership Initiative, which was originally an amendment to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The bill would renew the partnership between the chief of the US Forest Service (USFS) and chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). This collaboration aims to better the health and resilience of forest landscapes and grasslands across federal and non-federal land. By reviving the partnership, the new legislation would also offer more resources for forest and grassland restoration projects.
“The Joint Chiefs program has been a model of voluntary, collaborative efforts to improve the resilience of our landscapes across both public and private lands. This legislation builds on years of engagement and broad bipartisan support,” Bennet said in a statement.
USDA initiated the Joint Chiefs program in 2014 to help forest and grassland restoration projects. In the last seven years, the policy has assisted 93 projects in 40 states and Puerto Rico. The efforts worked to treat 300,000 acres of hazardous fuels, restore 29,000 acres in priority watersheds and improve 200,000 acres of wildlife habitat.
The initiative continues the Biden-Harris administration’s goal to reduce wildfire threats to communities, improve water quality and protect wildlife habitat for at-risk species.
“This reauthorization is basically channeling more funding for wildfire mitigation and resiliency in our region,” Mason Osgood, executive director at Sheep Mountain Alliance, told the Telluride Daily Planet. “In terms of wildfire we’ve been advocating for resiliency projects locally and in the region.”
The Joint Chiefs Reauthorization Act of 2023 would extend funding for the initiative and develop the program to incorporate wildfire recovery and natural resource concerns, including planting trees and vegetation in post-fire areas and other reforestation projects.
“This hopefully will open up more funding for wildfire resiliency projects that are based on science and preventing these super intense fires instead of timber sales which has been an issue,” Osgood said.
The new bill would set forward $90 million annually for the Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership, which USFS and NRCS would share, with each agency receiving 40% minimum of the allocated funding. Any remaining resources can go towards technical assistance, project development and local capacity.
“We know how essential this program is for reducing wildfire risk, protecting watersheds, and recovering from disasters in Colorado. We must ensure this vital program remains fully funded,” Neguse said in a statement. “I am proud to once again partner with Sen. Bennet to continue our work on the Joint Chiefs Landscape Restoration Partnership Program.”
The bill would prioritize projects that lower wildfire risk in municipal watersheds or grow forest business and workforce opportunities. The USDA is expected to do outreach for the programs and share information with landowners, tribes, states and local governments.
“Our Western forests, grasslands and watersheds are as important to our economy as the Lincoln Tunnel is to New York, but they are under threat from a changing climate and consistent federal underinvestment,” Bennet added.
Going forward, NCRS and the Forest Service are looking for proposals to boost forest health on public and private lands. The deadline is on September 4, 2023, for fiscal year 2024. The new projects build off existing programs from 2022 and 2023 to reduce wildfire risk, improve water quality, protect wildlife habitat, restore forest ecosystems and combat climate change.
Read the full article here.