Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was at Fresno State University in California Tuesday primarily to discuss the pending Farm Bill, but he took the opportunity to talk about fire management within the U.S. Forest Service. Below is an excerpt from Valley Public Radio:
…But he also used his address to call for a new approach when it comes to battling forest fires, such as the Rim Fire, which burned over 400 square miles in and around Yosemite earlier this year.
“The problem has been that over a long period of time we haven’t invested in resiliency and the restoration of our forest,” Vilsack says.
He said years of poor forest management, plus climate change and disease have left millions of acres with dangerously high levels of fuel.
According to Vilsack the Forest Service spends around $2 billion a year fighting fires. This year, the number of fires totaled 40,000. He told the audience that he’s asked President Obama to look at new ways to fund efforts to stop so-called mega-fires.
“We’re working on a new way to adequately fund fire suppression so we don’t have to take money from the restoration side of the budget which will allow us to accelerate in making these forests more resilient and removing that hazardous fuel so the risk of fire is reduced and the intensity of fire is also reduced,” Vilsack says.
He said the farm bill contains provisions for stewardship contractors to use wood cleared from overgrown forests, but he also said more can be done to turn forest waste into renewable sources of energy.
How bout logging? We have over the last two decades, made improvements in how tree’s are harvested. Not every project should be a clear cut. Lets face it value added treatment is a very good thing.
I hope I don’t sound too corny, on this Thanksgiving. There are a lot of things I give thanks for, among them Wildfire Today and the staff of Dr. Gabbert who have been an important part of my life after public retirement. All those commenters have been equally as important, as it keeps me thinking and somewhat on track. jc
Thanks Johnny. You’re very kind. And, thank YOU for your very helpful participation over the years.
Article in yesterday’s NY Times about inmate crews: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/27/us/as-costs-are-cut-inmates-fill-gap-in-fighting-wildfires.html
With all do respect to the Secretary, haven’t we heard this story before, a replay.
To redirect suppression dollars toward forest health projects (thinning, burning) sounds attractive but is it possible to accomplish on a large scale work that yields results? For each acre you treated you will probably have to revisit the site within a decade and retreat to accomplish the “balance” once achieved. Burning and thinning one thousand acres a year in a million acre forest is like rowing a small boat against a strong tide, futile.