Wildfire Management Pt 2
I’m Bob Larson. Wildfires have taken their toll in recent years, and that’s why U.S. Representatives Dan Newhouse, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, and Kim Schrier have invited Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to see the damage first hand.
Newhouse says forest management has to be a team effort …
NEWHOUSE … “We’ve got to have the leadership in these agencies on board and focused and committed to getting that work done so that the people that work under them in all these federal agencies see it as a priority. And, that’s the goal of having the invitation sent to them.”
But it’s not, Newhouse says like NOTHING is being done …
NEWHOUSE … “You know, I wouldn’t say nothing, but not enough. We have seen some progress in the area, but the forests cover millions of acres and we’re just not accomplishing what we need to do at a rate fast enough to catch up with the backlog of work that has to be accomplished.”
Newhouse says forest management has, at times, taken a back seat to climate change …
NEWHOUSE … “Yes, climate change can be a convenient scapegoat for this, but you can’t write all the damage off to that. I think there truly is a lack of management.”
The lawmakers said for years, strategies to mitigate and fight wildfires have not yielded results, and federal agencies must act now to address these devastating outcomes.
