[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 93 (Wednesday, June 26, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H4043-H4044]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WILDFIRE RESOLUTION
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Colorado (Mr. Tipton) for 5 minutes.
Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, the West Fork Complex Fire--acreage burning
now in Colorado--is more than 141 square miles and counting. The East
Peak Fire--over 13,000 acres and counting. These are just two of the
fires that are burning in my district now, and it is still early
summer. Tens of thousands of acres of forests are already gone and
entire communities are being threatened.
Brave men and women are working around-the-clock to be able to stop
this devastation. They are truly incredible, and I want to thank all of
them for all they are doing to be able to protect property, save lives,
and to be able to contain these wildfires.
Just like the wildfires that have ravaged our State over the last
decade, these fires have destroyed property and are doing irreversible
damage to the environment--to the fragile ecologies and watersheds on
which we rely.
The incident commanders in charge of the suppression efforts on the
West
[[Page H4044]]
Fork Fire--the Nation's highest priority--told me this week that the
behavior of the fire is unprecedented. Because of all of the beetle-
killed timber, unnaturally dense forest, and dry conditions, the fire
has acted in a way that defies computer models and has been incredibly
devastating.
The most tragic part of all of this is the occurrence of these forest
fires could be reduced, if not outright prevented, with commonsense
healthy forest management.
With this in mind, I have put forward the following resolution:
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that
allocating the appropriate resources to wildland fire
management is needed to protect the environment, the economy
and the people of the United States, and for other purposes.
Whereas, the thoughts and prayers of the Members of the
House of Representatives go out to the individuals and
families who have lost loved ones and their homes to
wildlife;
Whereas, the Members of the House of Representatives
express the utmost gratitude to wildland firefighters and
first responders who bravely protect life and property;
Whereas, nearly 10 million acres of land burned in the
United States in 2012;
Whereas, the acreage burned by wildfires has steadily
increased over the past decade;
Whereas, the most destructive fire in the history of the
State of Colorado and the largest fire in the history of the
State of New Mexico destroyed hundreds of homes and hundreds
of thousands of acres of wildlife habitat in 2012;
Whereas, Federal forest and land management officials
continue to request fewer funds to fight wildfires;
Whereas, the funding available for wildland fire
suppression in the Wildland Fire Management Account of the
Forest Service was cut by $461 million from fiscal year 2011
to fiscal year 2013;
Whereas, the Wildland Fire Hazardous Fuels Reduction
Account of the Forest Service was cut by $22 million from
fiscal year 2011 to fiscal year 2013, and the latest budget
request asks for another $116 million decrease;
Whereas, the Collaborative Forest Restoration Program, a
program that benefits local economies and improves the
overall health of the landscape, has taken a 20 percent cut
in funding over the past 2 years;
Whereas, senior Forest Service officials have described a
Federal land management system hamstrung by ``analysis
paralysis;''
Whereas, decades of Federal mismanagement have increased
fuel loads on Federal forest land and led to increased risk
of catastrophic wildlife;
Whereas, the U.S. Forest Service has replaced responsible,
environmentally sound timber thinning with allowing forests
to burn through overcrowded forests;
Whereas, the bark beetle epidemic has destroyed 40 million
acres of forest in North America; and
Whereas, academic studies indicate that bark beetle-
infected trees can still be salvaged for timber to be used in
mills and contribute to small businesses and local economies.
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, that it is the sense of the House of
Representatives that--
Allocating the appropriate resources to wildland fire
management is needed to protect the environment, the economy,
and the people of the United States;
The bravery of the men and women who risk their lives to
extinguish these conflagrations can never be questioned;
A healthy forest policy must include prescribed thinning;
Funding to fight and prevent wildfires is essential to
public safety, environmental protection, and economic growth;
People who live in or near our national forests have a
right to expect the greatest possible protection for their
homes and properties;
The government should not continue to acquire more land
when the hundreds of millions of acres already controlled by
the government are mismanaged; and
The Forest Service should proactively manage Federal forest
lands in a manner that protects life and property, prevents
catastrophic wildfire, promotes forest and watershed health,
and creates jobs and economic development in the forest
products industry.
I invite all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me
in standing with the people of Colorado, standing with all in the West
who have been impacted by catastrophic wildfire. Join me in thanking
the firefighters who are risking their lives to protect others. Join me
in the action to prevent future devastation and restore our forests to
health.
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