On Friday the US Senate failed to pass an amendment that would have fully funded U.S. Forest Service wildland fire management for 2013. Introduced by Senators Jon Tester (Montana) and Mark Udall (Colorado), the amendment to the Supplemental Appropriation for Disaster Assistance would have restored $653 million to the Forest Service’s Wildland Fire Management Account, which funds wildland fire preparedness, suppression, hazardous fuels reduction, fire research and development, and state fire assistance. The amendment would have increased the budget request for the Wildland Fire Management fund to the projected median cost of the 2013 wildfire season, $1.584 billion.
The amendment was defeated when Senator Jeff Sessions (Alabama) raised a point of order against the proposal, and the Senate failed to waive it in a 51-44 vote.
good for you! Good luck with the hiring process.
Joey. Keep watching USAJOBS. Agencies will start posting jobs in January. Now is the time to get a pair of boots broken in and start preparing for the ardous pack test.
If you are interested, there is the Great Northern Crew which is a developmental type II hand crew for young people interested in a career in wildland fire. They are based at the Aerial Fire Depot in Missoula Mt. Here is a link to their web site:
http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r1/fire-aviation/?cid=fsp5_030799
That’s interesting you mentioned that. I ended up calling a smokejumper/crew member and had a good talk with her about possibly getting on the crew in Missoula. I am planning on flying out there to meet her in person by the end of January. I’m hoping to make a good impression on her and others who are involved in the hiring process.
I wish I could just say ” in sight but not done yet.” If you are a cooperator, term, or contractor you’re a sitting duck until a budget gets passed. Time for a career change.
Joey there are more jobs than applicants.
Alright thanks Chris, I put down a lot of locations in my USAJOBS GS-3 application. I am looking forward to getting phone calls in the coming months.
How much will a lack of funding affect new firefighters trying to get in at entry level positions? Should new firefighters be worried or is this something that gets worked around every year?
Salt Lake City would be a far better location, major jet port, and interstate road system. Just my 2 cents, and I live in the SE.
With no funding, it’s more likely to get shut down completely than moved. The general attitude in Utah is “give us back our lands and we will manage them on the state level”. That is code for we don’t like all the federal restrictions preventing unfettered resource extraction. And never mind the destruction left behind, it will grow back in a few hundreds of years. Or not, but who cares, we made good profits for a few people.
Both Utah Senators voted AGAINST the fire bill, and their general attitude is much like Idaho’s that Feds are bad folks, except when they bring US$$$ into the States. I’m against appearing to support folks that hate my guts in their public posture.
Maybe the Democrat Senators should propose moving NIFC out of Idaho and see what kind of response the Idaho Senators have about funding Federal wildland fire operations?
Montana’s Senator Jon Tester, who originated the Bill, would back a move of NIFC to Missoula in a heart-beat – the “Last Best Place”.
After reviewing the votes (and I suggest others do to as well) it shows roughly 95% of Congress from the Republican side of the Senate voted “Nay”, while obviously Democrats voted hugely in favor.
This is very disappointing even more so in the fact that both ID and WY had huge amounts of fire for 2012.
DEMs in Yea REPs in Nay
MT CO WY
CA NV OK
NM SD ID
WA OR UT
ND NE ND
MT
I foresee a fire year again where politicians will scream “wheres the resources” because voters lose property and lives and yet, the polis will blame the agencies instead of being accountable for the votes they cast.
I’m Sure Redmond, Oregon would welcome NIFC
in a pair of seconds…
Hell… we haven’t had a budget for nearly four years… what is new?
Running an agency on four years of “continuing resolutions” shows just how messed up Congress is.
If you are worried about the “fiscal cliff”, you are rightfully worried. The next hurdle will be the debt ceiling that we are rapidly approaching in March or April.
Mark Udall is a senator from Colorado. I don’t doubt both the Utah Senators would vote to block anything that might lead to more effective forest management, but that is a separate issue.
Colorado, right, thanks.
So the feds have failed to act [again] and we have another season of firefighting on the cheap.
It’s time to keep score on federal and state actions and remember who helped and who didn’t.