Lummis Votes to Boost Wildland Fire Suppression Efforts in the West
Press Release
Lummis Votes to Boost Wildland Fire Suppression Efforts in the West
U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., has voted in favor of a bill providing increased funding for the U.S. Forest Service to fight wildland fires in Wyoming and throughout the West. The bill passed the House by a vote of 412-3.
The bill, the Federal Land Assistance, Management, and Enhancement (FLAME) Act, H.R. 1404, would create a specified fund for emergency catastrophic wildfire suppression and directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior to develop a cohesive wildland fire management strategy within one year.
"Public land managers in Wyoming and the West can only be expected to make smart and balanced management decisions if they are given the resources to implement them," Lummis said. "The FLAME Act will ensure the Forest Service will have an increased ability to effectively fight our most extreme wildland fires without having to do so at the detriment of other important on the ground programs."
"Summer is fast approaching and so is the wildfire season for those of us in the West. I urge the Senate to pass this bipartisan bill quickly to ensure the Forest Service and BLM have the resources they need to combat fires in the West."
Lummis also supported bipartisan amendments to ensure an increased agency focus on areas where insect infestation has created an extreme risk of wildfire, such as the Medicine Bow National Forest in southern Wyoming.
The overall cost of fire suppression has risen dramatically and created budgetary challenges for the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Forest Service, which have primary federal responsibility for fire suppression. Wildfire suppression activities account for 48 percent of the Forest Service's budget. These costs have exceeded $1 billion in five of the past 8 years.
H.R. 1404 also requires the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior to establish an accounting system for the FLAME fund, including an annual report to Congress regarding the use of the funds, with a focus on administrative control and oversight.
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