The U.S. Forest Service recognizes that it must significantly increase forest restoration work to alleviate threats from wildfire and to improve forest and watershed health, Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell said.
Tidwell spoke at the regional conference of district rangers in Helena on Thursday. He then sat down with the Independent Record to discuss challenges and potential solutions for an agency that has seen funding for many programs drop while needs have continued to climb.
“Demands are greater than they’ve ever been for our mission, and we’re doing it with fewer employees. I recognize how difficult it is,” he said. “With the consolidations we’ve had to do, I don’t like those, but it’s just the reality of doing everything we can to get the most work done on the ground.”
Costs for fire suppression have climbed by $740 million since 2003, and those additional funds must come from elsewhere in the Forest Service budget. Staffing has also increased for fire while dropping 35 percent across the rest of the agency during that time.
An idea that has seen increasing support would place costs for the top 1 percent of fires generating the highest response and funding onto an adjusted cap on the agency’s annual budget, Tidwell said. That would make the worst and most expensive fires funded like other natural disasters such as hurricanes or earthquakes, paid for without reducing other services.
From the Helena Independent Record: https://helenair.com/news/local/us-forest-service-chief-demands-are-rising-with-staff-numbers/article_1d787484-4899-58e4-a0e6-b066dc2c4080.html