[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 66 (Tuesday, May 15, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E807]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. CHRIS CANNON

                                of utah

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 9, 2001

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 581) to 
     authorize the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
     Agriculture to use funds appropriated for the wildland fire 
     management in the Department of the Interior and Related 
     Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001, to reimburse the United 
     States Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine 
     Fisheries Service to facilitate the interagency cooperation 
     required under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 in 
     connection with wildland fire management:

  Mr. CANNON. Madam Chairman, in the last eight years my home and the 
homes of my neighbors have been threatened by fire on the mountain 
behind our town in Mapleton. I want to thank the heroic, hard working 
Federal firefighters for how they fought those infernos. My home is in 
the mouth of a canyon that has a strong and regular evening wind. Had 
the fire reached the canyon it would have been like a huge blowtorch. 
Many Utahns have shared the same concerns. We have a lot of homes 
located along the hundreds of miles of the urban/public lands 
interface.
  Our ways of thinking about fire have shifted in recent years. We 
understand the benefits of fires in the natural cycles of our public 
lands. The beautiful areas where we live, the parks and forests that we 
enjoy, can benefit from reducing the fire risk by reducing fuel loads, 
prescribed burns, and educating people on fire safety.
  To undertake these prevention measures, the Forest Service must first 
consult with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, ensuring that there will 
be no adverse effects to animals and especially endangered species. 
Unfortunately, the USFWS lacks the money to do what is needed.
  H.R. 581 will allow the Forest Service to reimburse the Fish and 
Wildlife Service for their consultations.
  Last year, many of the western states, including Utah, experienced 
some of the worst forest fires in history. Utah's current fire 
conditions look similar to last year's. According to the National 
Forest Service, most of the state is at high and very high risk of fire 
danger. Last year nearly 2,000 fires in Utah burned 228,000 acres of 
land. In Utah County alone, over 3,200 acres of land were destroyed by 
57 fires.
  Preventive actions can help save our lands as well as better allocate 
the taxpayer money spent on putting out fires. The Yellowstone fire of 
1988 cost the nation $120 million to fight. Only a fraction of that 
amount would have been needed for prevention. As prescribed, controlled 
fire costs about $50 an acre. In a wilderness fire this cost for 
fighting the fire alone increases to between $200-$400 an acre. That 
does not include the cost of lost timber, wildlife, or ecological 
damage. Simply reducing the built-up fuel load that grew during years 
of fire suppression can have a significant effect on reducing fire 
danger.
  Educating people on fire safety is a key issue as well. In Utah, 60-
70% of the fires are either accidentally or intentionally started by 
humans, Most of these could be avoided with proper understanding.
  We must make funding for responsible fire practices a priority. This 
will improve the sense of serenity for my family, the constituents who 
I serve, and the many people who live on or near our public lands.