[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 125 (Monday, September 30, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1693-E1694]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       FIRE PLAN ON FEDERAL LANDS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB SCHAFFER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 26, 2002

  Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the efforts of 
the Colorado General Assembly concerning implementation of the National 
Fire Plan on Federal Lands. Joint Resolution 02S-1007, passed by 
Colorado's General Assembly, endorses H.R. 3948, introduced in the 
107th U.S. Congress to improve the implementation of the National Fire 
Plan by reducing fuels in the wildland-urban interface. I commend the 
work of the Colorado General Assembly for its strong efforts toward the 
betterment of the state and well being of the people of the great state 
of Colorado.
  I hereby submit for the Record Colorado House Joint Resolution 02S-
1007.

                    HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 02S-1007

       By Representative(s) Hefley, Alexander, Johnson, Madden, 
     Snook, Witwer, Cloer, Coleman, Crane, Dean, Fritz, Harvey, 
     Lawrence, Mace, Marshall, Plant, Rhodes, Romanoff, Smith, 
     Spradley, Stafford, Tapia, Velga, Vigil, Williams S., Decker, 
     and Weddig; also Senator(s) Fitz-Gerald, Isgar, Tupa, 
     Hernandez, Phillips, and Windels.


 CONCERNING IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL FIRE PLAN ON FEDERAL LANDS.

       Whereas, The paramount goal of fire policy must be the 
     protection of lives, homes, and communities; and
       Whereas, 1.3 million Colorado citizens reside in and 
     adjacent to forested areas with high wildfire risk, and the 
     number living 'in a wildland-urban interface is predicted to 
     increase substantially over the next few decades; and
       Whereas, Hundreds of firefighters heroically put their 
     lives at risk to save homes and communities every year; and

[[Page E1694]]

       Whereas, Intermixed land ownership means that Colorado's 
     federal land managers, state land managers, and private 
     property owners are all responsible for the protection of 
     private property; and
       Whereas, USDA Forest Service research has demonstrated that 
     fuel reduction within the immediate vicinity of structures 
     and the use of nonflammable building material are the most 
     important factors determining whether a structure will 
     survive a wildfire; and
       Whereas, A primary purpose of the National Fire Plan is to 
     reduce the risk of severe wildfires in the wildland-urban 
     interface where communities adjoin or intermingle with 
     federal public lands, and substantial funds have been 
     appropriated to the federal land management agencies to 
     implement this plan; and
       Whereas, At a 1998 Colorado forest conference sponsored by 
     Governor Romer and the USDA Forest Service, consensus 
     developed between the environmental community, the timber 
     industry, and the USDA wildland-urban interface red zone; and
       Whereas, In January 2002, the General Accounting Office 
     concluded that USDA Forest Service accounting and tracking is 
     so poor that there is no way to determine whether the USDA 
     Forest Service had appropriately spent over $750 million 
     allocated to thinning and prescribed fire in the wildland-
     urban interface red zone; and
       Whereas, The USDA Forest Service has aggressively fought 
     efforts to require 60% of the National Fire Plan funds to be 
     spent on fuel reduction projects that will provide the 
     greatest protection to the at-risk communities; and
       Whereas, The federal land managers in Colorado are using 
     National Fire Plan moneys in some instances to assist in the 
     completion of projects that do little to reduce fuels in the 
     wildland-urban interface; and
       Whereas, Colorado Congressmen Joel Hefley and Mark Udall 
     have recognized this problem and introduced a bipartisan 
     resolution, H.R. 3948, to improve implementation of the 
     National Fire Plan by reducing the build-up of fuels in the 
     wildland-urban interface by establishing an interagency 
     council to coordinate implementation of the National Fire 
     Plan, directing the council to define consent criteria to 
     identify the communities within the wildland-urban interface 
     that are most at risk from severe wildfires, requiring that 
     fuel reduction be accomplished in at-risk communities before 
     other fuel reduction efforts are undertaken in the state, and 
     directing the council to determine the most effective and 
     appropriate methods to utilize fuel removed pursuant to the 
     National Fire Plan; now, therefore,
       Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the 
     Sixty-third General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the 
     Senate concurring herein:
       That the General Assembly endorses H.R. 3948 to improve the 
     implementation of the National Fire Plan by reducing fuels in 
     the wildland-urban interface, and urges the Colorado 
     Congressional Delegation to support and cosponsor this 
     resolution.
       Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint 
     Resolution be sent to the President of the United States, the 
     Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, and 
     each member of the Colorado Congressional Delegation.
     Doug Dean,
       Speaker of the House.
     Ed Perlmutter,
       President Pro Tem of the Senate.
     Judith Rodrigue,
       Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives.
     Karen Goldman,
       Secretary of the Senate.

       

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