On February 22 the the Secretary of Interior sent a letter to all DOI employees warning them of possible furloughs without pay if the sequester budget cut went into effect. The letter was similar to the one sent February 11 by the Secretary of Agriculture with similar bad news for the U.S. Forest Service and other agencies.
As we first wrote on October 13, the Budget Control Act of 2001 which is usually referred to as the fiscal cliff or sequester, will require federal wildland fire programs to be cut by at least $218 million, or 8.2 percent. The provisions of the act took effect on Friday, March 1. There is a chance that our elected politicians will introduce and pass legislation modifying or reversing some portions of the act, but so far both political parties seem very satisfied with what they have done, allowing the sequester to begin.
There are four agencies within the DOI that employ large numbers of wildland firefighters: National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Fish and Wildlife Service.
The scariest part of both letters was the warning of possible furloughs, which is basically being told to not come to work. Furloughed firefighters will receive no pay and will not be able to take paid leave, such as annual or sick leave. DOI employees were warned of furloughs of up to 22 work days, over a month without pay. The DOA letter did not specify how many days of furlough may be forced upon their employees.
Below are some key quotes from the DOI letter:
“…we expect that thousands of permanent employees will be furloughed for periods of time up to 22 work days…”
“… all affected employees will be provided at least 30 days notice prior to executing a furlough…”
“Many seasonal employees will be furloughed, have delayed starts, shortened employment periods, or will not be hired at all.”
“Middle-class Americans who expected to spend their summer vacations at our 398 national parks, 561 refuges, and over 258 public land units will encounter reduced hours and services or even closures.”
This ridiculous manufactured economic fiasco we’re calling sequestration has begun, on a week day when our elected representatives abandoned Washington, leaving their offices empty rather than actually do what we hire them to do, pass a budget, something they have not done in four years. Fire them all, I say!
We attempted to find out what the effects of sequestration will be within the wildland fire divisions of the federal land management agencies. Our usual sources told us either they don’t know, they are still figuring it out, or they passed the buck to bureaucrats in D.C. Here are some samples:
Bureau of Land Management
Donald Smurthwaite said, “Put simply, we’ll have fewer dollars in all of our programs. That will translate to fewer resources on the ground and in support positions.” When pressed for more details, he said they don’t have any numbers yet, and in fact they don’t even know what their funding level is beyond the end of the current Continuing Resolution, which expires near the end of the month.
National Park Service
Our usual excellent source in Boise told us Thursday that they would check and get back to us. We’re still waiting as of 6 p.m. on Friday.
U. S. Forest Service
The only information we could get was from the Department of Agriculture in D.C.:
The USFS is expecting a sequestration amount of $134 million. This will be $42 million below the calculated 10-year average of fire suppression costs for FY 2013. In addition, a reduction of Preparedness funds typically increases suppression costs since the initial attack success will be reduced, they said.
There will be “as many as 200,000 fewer acres treated for hazardous fuels”.
The USFS expects reduced operations at campgrounds, visitor information centers, and offices. This would occur during the peak use seasons in spring and summer. Thousands of private sector jobs in rural communities would be lost due to a reduction of recreation opportunities.
The agency would close up to 670 public developed recreation sites out of a total of 19,000 sites, such as campgrounds, picnic areas, and trailheads.
There would be a decrease of 35 sworn law enforcement officers, leaving 707 total officers to control drug trafficking organizations, prevent crime, and protect and serve the public. According to the agency, this would result in an increase in arson during the fire season, timber theft, and other natural resource crimes.
Timber volume sold would be reduced from 2,800 million board feet proposed for FY 2013, to 2,379 million board feet.
What’s next?
The USFS has already distributed warning letters to their employees about possible furloughs, so while some play down the effects of the across the board mindless budget cuts, the impacts could be real on real people. As could be the effects on the ability of the agencies to protect and manage our national treasures, the parks, forests, refuges, and other public lands. The timing is not great either, as the fire agencies are trying to hire seasonal firefighters and as several long term contracts for next-generation, very large, and legacy air tankers are about to be issued – or not issued. A lot of real people are waiting to see how this fiasco will affect them and their families.
We will stay on top of this and let you know when we hear more.
Mark Masters, the CEO of Chloeta Fire, sent us some photos taken of a live interview they did with CNN Wednesday regarding the effects that sequestration may have on wildland fire management. Mr. Masters is a former rappeller, Fire Management Officer, dispatcher, and National Interagency Fire Center employee now running the fire contracting company in Oklahoma.
CAL FIRE expects to fully contain the River Fire on Thursday which has burned 407 acres east of Lone Pine, California. Thick brush and winds measured at 25 mph challenged the 500 firefighters that initially fought the blaze after it started on Sunday. Remaining on the fire Wednesday morning are 234 personnel, 11 engines, 6 crews, and 2 water tenders. CAL FIRE is calling it 85 percent contained.
Oregon may regulate exploding targets and sky lanterns
A bill has been introduced in the Oregon legislature, HB 3199, that would prohibit the use of sky lanterns (or fire balloons), exploding targets, and tracer ammunition on land within the boundaries of a forest protection district. (UPDATE: the bill was signed by the Governor and will take effect January 1, 2014.)
“Concealed carry is a right, target shooting is not”
Those were the words of Utah state senator Margaret Dayton who resurrected her bill that would give the state forester the authority to ban target shooting on state lands during periods of enhanced wildfire danger. Earlier she withdrew the bill after it received criticism from some shooting enthusiasts. The bill passed the Senate this week along with another that would allow firefighters to access water on privately owned land to aid them in fire suppression efforts.
A bill is speeding through the Colorado Senate that would add safeguards to prescribed fires conducted in the state. Senate Bill 13-083 would:
Establish control over prescribed burning within the Division of Fire Prevention and Control in the Department of Public Safety;
“Prescribed Burn Managers” must be certified by the Division for prescribed fires occurring on state lands or conducted by state agencies on private lands. This does not apply to “burning conducted by an agency of the federal government”;
A Prescribed Burn Manager must be on site during a prescribed burn “until the fire is adequately confined to reasonably prevent escape”;
Allows the Division to collect fees for providing training and certifications.
Getting manufactured crisis fatigue?
While the people we send to Washington to conduct the nation’s business have not passed a federal budget in four years, and they propel us from one manufactured crisis to another, some of us may tire of the hype as we reel from one ridiculous deadline to another. Unfortunately the impacts on the land management agencies from the budget cuts required by the sequester will be significant unless they are reversed within the next few weeks.
On October 13, we first wrote about the sequester, which will require federal wildland fire programs to be cut by at least $218 million, or 8.2 percent.
Here are some excerpts from an article at the Union Democrat with examples of impacts on the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service in California:
The Associated Press obtained a Park Service memo Friday that detailed some of the planned Yosemite cuts. Staff reductions would end guided ranger programs at Wawona and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, eliminate a program in which 3,500 volunteers provide 40,000 hours of activities and mean less frequent trash pickup due to loss of campground staff.
Park administrators fear that less frequent trash pickup would potentially attract bears into campgrounds.
Seasonal road closures like that of Tioga Road may be extended later than usual because there will be less staff available to clear snow.
“The reductions would limit the National Park Service’s ability to sustain a full complement of seasonal employees needed for interpretive programs, maintenance, law enforcement and other visitor services as we are preparing for the busy summer season. Local communities and businesses that rely on recreation to support their livelihoods would face a loss of income from reduced visitation to national parks.”
In the Stanislaus National Forest, cuts could reduce funds available for fuels reductions that help prevent catastrophic forest fires. About $134 million in lost wildland fire management funds would lead to as many as 200,000 fewer acres treated nationwide, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack wrote in a letter dated Feb. 5 to U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The Forest Service is also prepared to close up to 670 of 19,000 developed recreation sites nationwide, such as campgrounds, picnic areas and trailheads, according to Vilsack.
Webinar today: Debunking Myths in Wildland Fire
Today from 1 until 2 p.m. MT:
Sarah McCaffrey will present findings from recent research on social issues of fire management with particular emphasis on the accuracy of various accepted truths about the public and fire management and the variables that actually are associated with approval of different fire management practices.
Since Congress still has not dealt with their self-imposed “fiscal cliff” or budget sequestration required by the Budget Control Act of 2011, severe budget cuts could affect the federal land management agencies and their wildland firefighters after March 1. That is the latest deadline after Congress has consistently kicked the can further down the road rather than actually doing their jobs and passing a federal budget.
An all-employees letter from Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack today warned that the agency could be forced to lay off, or furlough, some employees if the self-imposed crisis is not averted. Here is an excerpt:
…As a result, we are closely examining contracts, grants, and other forms of expenditures across the Department to determine where we can reduce costs. In many cases, this could mean making cuts to vital programs or curtailing spending on contracts. We will also take steps, wherever possible, to cut operational or administrative costs in areas such as travel, training, facilities, and supplies.
We may also have to consider placing employees on temporary furlough, or taking other personnel actions, should sequestration occur. With respect to furloughs, should we have to pursue this unfortunate course of action, let me assure you that all affected employees will be provided at least 30 days’ notice prior to executing a furlough.
If the Budget Control Act of 2011 or “fiscal cliff” is allowed to go into effect on March 1, 2013 the federal wildland fire programs will be cut by $218 million.
In addition, the FLAME wildfire suppression reserve fund will be cut by 8.2 percent, meaning it would not be funded at the 10-year average, greatly increasing the risk of funding shortfalls, as occurred in fiscal year 2012 which ended September 30. Such a shortfall would impact more than just the fire programs. With no carryover funds and a cut in the FLAME reserve fund, the wildland fire agencies in the Departments of Interior and Agriculture would need to take funds from other accounts to make up the firefighting shortfall.
Under the Budget Control Act, the sequestration would result in a 9.4 percent reduction in non-exempt defense discretionary funding and an 8.2 percent reduction in non-exempt nondefense discretionary funding. The sequestration would also impose cuts of 2.0 percent to Medicare, 7.6 percent to other non-exempt nondefense mandatory programs, and 10.0 percent to non-exempt defense mandatory programs.
Most of the federal wildland fire appropriations will be subject to an 8.2 percent reduction since they are considered “discretionary”.
A report, prepared by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), revealed the following cuts to wildland fire budgets that could go into effect; the numbers do not include the FLAME fire suppression accounts:
U.S. Forest Service Wildland Fire Management: $172 million
Department of Interior Wildland Fire Management: $46 million
As we first wrote on October 13, the Budget Control Act of 2001, called the “fiscal cliff”, will require federal wildland fire programs to be cut by at least $218 million, or 8.2 percent. Negotiations are underway to prevent the law from taking effect on January 2, 2013 as planned, but if lawmakers fail to come up with an alternative, there will be some very significant changes in the federal land management agencies.
…Sequestration will have a big—and negative—impact on land and ocean management agencies. Here’s how it’ll affect all Americans:
Less accurate weather forecasts
Slower energy development
Fewer wildland firefighters
Closures of national parks
Fewer places to hunt
Less fish on your table
Diminished maritime safety and security
[…]
But the U.S. Forest Service faces tremendous cuts to its firefighting capabilities under sequestration. Its “Wildland Fire Management” account, which funds preparedness, fire suppression, hazardous-fuels removal, restoration, and state fire assistance, among other things, is slated to be cut by $172 million in fiscal year 2013 if the sequester moves forward. Additionally, the Department of the Interior’s “Wildland Fire Management” account faces a $46 million cut next year. The department also funds the “FLAME Wildfire Suppression Reserve Fund,” which will be cut by $7 million under sequestration. In total, funding for wildland fire prevention and assistance at the land management agencies will be cut by $225 million.
Without such funding, not only will Americans’ property and lives be more at risk, but special places such as national forests and national parks will be less resilient in the face of future fires.
On February 22 the the Secretary of Interior sent a letter to all DOI employees warning them of possible furloughs without pay if the sequester budget cut went into effect. The letter was similar to the one sent February 11 by the Secretary of Agriculture with similar bad news for the U.S. Forest Service and other agencies.
