Jewell: Making landscapes more resilient to fire
U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell says the latest $10 million federal investment into the “Wildland Fire Resilient Landscapes Program,” which she announced during a visit to Idaho today, will make critical landscapes across the country more resilient to the impacts of wildfire and climate change. ““These projects will protect the nation’s diverse landscapes making them more resilient to wildfire for future generations, with help from our partners who also recognize that this challenge is too great for any one organization to tackle on its own," Jewell said. “The funding restores iconic landscapes and vital watersheds, reduces fuels and controls invasive species to re-establish native vegetation, while reducing the risks to the public and our firefighters who respond to wildland fires.”
Jewell toured the site of the Soda Fire, where land managers are attempting to help rehabilitate the sagebrush steppe landscape; visited with firefighters and multiple agency representatives at the National Interagency Fire Center; received briefings on the 2016 fire season outlook; and heard updates on implementation of her Rangeland Fire Prevention, Management and Restoration order, issued last year, which called for development of a comprehensive, science-based strategy to reduce the size, severity and cost of rangeland fires; address the spread of cheat grass and other invasive species; and position wildland fire management resources for more effective rangeland fire response.
The $10 million in projects mark the second year of the "resilient landscapes" effort, which began with a pilot program in 2015 and another $10 million. Results are expected from each project within five to 10 years. The 10 projects include one in Idaho, the Bruneau-Owyhee project, which is receiving $500,000 for the coming year to treat conifer encroachment to benefit fire resiliency and the greater sage grouse. The project is a joint effort of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the Idaho Department of Lands, the Idaho Office of Species Conservation, the National Resource Conservation Service and Owyhee County.
There are full maps and project information online here on all 10 projects.
Jewell also called on Congress to address fire funding, to avoid borrowing from prevention programs that can increase the landscape’s resilience to future fires to cover immediate firefighting costs.
