Wildfire! - Federal Land, Federal Responsibility

quarterly-report.com

Political Commentary
by James R. Audet


	Wildfire!	Environment Index
	Federal Land, Federal Responsibility	Home Page
	by James R. Audet

November 1, 2003

The wildfires that decimated the national forests in Southern California point out the serious shortcomings in the natural resource policies of the US Forest Service, the Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). ^1/

These agencies have failed in their mission to prevent wildfires in the nation’s national forests from becoming conflagrations that dwarf local resources to combat the danger.

FEMA bears significant responsibility for these out-of-control wildfires as it has funds for preventative maintenance.

The "pork barrel" nature of FEMA’s aid to disaster stricken communities is well known. Politicians have used FEMA aid as a means to show that "they care" about a city or region stricken by disaster. "Natural disasters fuel congressional action the way that bone-dry tinder fuels forest fires," said University of Wisconsin political scientist Don Kettl. "Members of Congress hate to be left on the sidelines when there's a chance to take action and get credit for solutions — and they do everything possible to escape the charge that they could have done something but didn't." ^2/

The California wildfires are not simply a local problem. A significant health risk was forced upon the citizens of Southern Nevada who had to breathe the lung choking smoke generated by the wildfires?

Grand Canyon Obscured by Wildfire Smoke

Photograph taken from North Rim of the Grand Canyon
showing effect of smoke from wildfires.

FEMA's failure to thin the forests displays an intentional disregard for the respiratory health of the citizens of Southern Nevada. Nevada residents are being openly, blatantly and maliciously discriminated. We are not receiving equal protection of the law.

Why is this a proper charge to level against federal Agency?

The answer is simple. Wildfires are a feature of the West, just as hurricanes are a feature of the East and Gulf coasts. Yet, FEMA concludes it can not prevent a wildfire and turns a blind eye. It responds to a wildfire threat, which is a preventable event, by doing NOTHING. This is legally wrong.

Congress recognized that forest management must be proactive not reactive, and charged FEMA to prevent wildfires by providing funds to thin forests of dead trees -- the principle fuel of wildfires. ^3/Although California recognized a wildfire danger in 2003 and requested emergency aid to combat the threat, FEMA, predictably, rejected the request. ^4/

FEMA's failure to act shows that it is out-of-step with the dangers that forests pose to metropolitan areas. What is the remedy for FEMA misfeasance?

A solution is to take the matter from FEMA's hands and place it back into the hands of the Forestry Service. A Congressional bill called the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 will do just that. The Act is designed to speed the thinning of up to 20 million acres of national forest land located mostly in the West, managed by the Agriculture Department's Forestry Service. The Act would authorize $760 million a year, targeting at least half of the money for projects on forest land closest to inhabited areas.

The Congress and President Bush have an obligation to enact this legislation to protect the residents of Southern Nevada and other areas not typically threatened by wildfires. Nevadans demand equal protection of the law.

Footnotes

1/ When authorized, FEMA makes funding available to pay 75 percent of a state's eligible firefighting costs under an approved grant for managing, mitigating, and controlling designated fires.

2/ Federal resources can affect the scope of recovery efforts, and give a boost to elected Federal officials. In a normal year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's fund spends $2.5 billion on disaster relief.

3/ Significantly, less on the scale of political capital is advanced funding to preclude a disaster. FEMA manages, unsuccessfully, Pre-Disaster Mitigation grants that are distributed on an annual basis and range from $250,000 and up.

4/ FEMA Director Michael Brown told Gannett News Service in July that California shouldn't expect to get funds for fire prevention because, although part of the agency's mission is to try to prepare for and mitigate disasters, its main mission still revolves around responding to and cleaning up disasters.