[Senate Hearing 115-227]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 115-227
S. _, THE WILDFIRE PREVENTION
AND MITIGATION ACT OF 2017
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HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON
ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
OCTOBER 25, 2017
__________
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COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming, Chairman
JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland
JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont
ROGER WICKER, Mississippi SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon
JERRY MORAN, Kansas KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, New York
MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey
JONI ERNST, Iowa EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
RICHARD SHELBY, Alabama KAMALA HARRIS, California
Richard M. Russell, Majority Staff Director
Gabrielle Batkin, Minority Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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Page
OCTOBER 25, 2017
OPENING STATEMENTS
Barrasso, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from the State of Wyoming...... 1
Carper, Hon. Thomas R., U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware.. 2
WITNESSES
Crapser, Bill, State Forester, Wyoming State Forestry Division... 4
Prepared statement........................................... 7
Responses to additional questions from Senator Barrasso...... 19
Moretti, Miles, President/CEO, Mule Deer Foundation.............. 21
Prepared statement........................................... 23
Response to an additional question from Senator Barrasso..... 29
Kruse, Dylan, Policy Director, Sustainable Northwest............. 30
Prepared statement........................................... 33
Responses to additional questions from Senator Carper........ 40
LEGISLATION
The text of S. _, the Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Act of
2017........................................................... 134
S. _, THE WILDFIRE PREVENTION
AND MITIGATION ACT OF 2017
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2017
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Environment and Public Works,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 11 a.m. in room
406, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. John Barrasso
(Chairman of the Committee) presiding.
Present: Senators Barrasso, Carper, Boozman, Whitehouse,
Merkley, and Harris.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BARRASSO,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WYOMING
Senator Barrasso. Now that the markup is completed, I call
this hearing to order.
Today we are having a hearing on Wildfire Prevention and
Mitigation, the Act of 2017. It is a discussion draft. The
discussion draft we consider today focuses specifically on
issues that have been referred to this Committee. It combines
tools for habitat conservation for mule deer, sage grouse, and
other wildlife, and streamline processes for addressing
specific areas that need immediate attention.
The three titles include bipartisan initiatives from six
different members and represent many months--if not years--of
work to give land managers the tools that they need to prevent
catastrophic wildfires.
It does not include a budget fix for the simple reason the
budget issues are outside the jurisdiction of this Committee.
Ultimately, a budget fix should be paired with tools to reduce
forest density for improved wildlife habitat and healthier
forests, and the ability to react quickly to mitigate
environmental harms after a fire.
On September 27 this Committee held its first hearing on
the catastrophic damage caused by wildfires across the country.
We heard testimony of homes burned, children unable to attend
schools because of poor air quality, damaged city water
supplies, and historic forest destruction.
Since that hearing, fires have continued to burn in
California and across the West, with devastating effect.
According to the latest numbers from the USDEA, ``Year to year,
there have been 52,277 fires, covering 8.82 million acres
across all jurisdictions, 2.3 million of which are on national
forests.'' To put this into perspective, that is nearly 7 times
the State of Delaware, 12 times the State of Rhode Island.
The cost of these fires is real: lives are lost and family
history and livelihoods are destroyed in an instant. The
communities and ecosystems will be needing rebuilding for
years. We must ask ourselves what kind of future are we leaving
for the next generation when we fail to conserve Federal
forests that overwhelm the sky with thick smoke and ash when
they burn.
As a physician, I see many parallels between human health
and forest health. These catastrophic fires are a symptom, not
the underlying problem. I believe we have to take a holistic
approach. On the one hand, we must take preventive action so
that, when fires occur, they don't burn so hot, so long, and so
fast and destroy everything in their path. Additionally, we
must also enable restoration to ensure that, when fires do
occur, agencies have the tools they need to restore and improve
wildlife habitat, access for recreation and whole forest
ecosystems. Both of these things must be paired with a
comprehensive budget fix.
Before hearing from our witnesses today, I would like to
turn to Ranking Member Carper for his remarks.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS R. CARPER,
U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF DELAWARE
Senator Carper. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
To our witnesses, I had a chance to welcome you all
personally, but in public I want to say, welcome. We are glad
you are here.
Since the last time we met to discuss wildfires, just about
a month ago right here, 21 major wildfires have ravaged the
State of California. These fires have destroyed over 8,000
homes and buildings, scorched more than 245,000 acres, and
tragically taken some 42 lives. More than 11,000 firefighters
from I think about 18 States and Australia are still working to
contain these fires.
My wife and I were out in California about a week and a
half ago, and from San Francisco down to San Jose we were
struck by the haze, the smoke that was still in the air,
especially in the northern part of the Bay area. A lot of
people were wearing masks almost 100 miles from where the fires
were taking place.
Challenging fire conditions persist throughout California,
but now that the October fires are waning, cleanup begins.
Chemicals present in burned out homes and buildings may cause
new health and human safety concerns. We need to act to address
wildlife risk now more than ever. We also need to be thoughtful
and strategic as we do that.
During our September hearing our colleagues and witnesses
seemed to agree on several issues, ranging from the urgent need
for Federal funds to address fire to the possibility that
narrowly tailored policy solutions should also be considered.
Unfortunately, that bipartisan consensus is not well
reflected in the draft legislation that we are considering
today. The Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Act does
incorporate two bipartisan bills, but it also includes broad
changes to the National Environmental Policy Act. I am
concerned about the negative implications of these proposed
reforms which would be layered on top of existing underutilized
forest management authorities.
This management reform-only approach is not going to solve
our nation's wildfire problem. The draft bill does not
acknowledge or address root causes for increasingly severe
wildfire seasons, such as climate change or increased
development near forestlands. It also fails to provide adequate
funding resources to the Forest Service.
I have mentioned the Forest Service's funding challenges
before, but the facts are worth reiterating. In 1995 only 16
percent--16 percent of the Fire Service's budget was dedicated
to fire suppression. Since 2015 the Forest Service has been
spending more than half of its annual budget fighting fires.
More than half.
In order to meet fire suppression needs, the Forest Service
borrows money from other important programs, including those
focused on forest management and restoration. This practice,
known as fire borrowing, is not sustainable. We have to get
ahead of this problem. It is not getting better; it is getting
worse, and it prevents the agency from taking necessary action
to prevent fire.
According to Secretary Perdue, firefighting activities will
likely consume two-thirds--two-thirds of the Forest Service
budget by 2021. Two-thirds by 2021. When Secretary Perdue
announced these projections at a bipartisan press event last
month with our Senate colleagues, he asked Congress to focus on
a permanent funding fix. He also reported that the Forest
Service is cooperating well with local communities and does not
necessarily need legislative management reforms.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses. We look
forward to hearing from each of you this morning who have
traveled, in some cases long ways, to share your expertise,
your counsel with us today.
Mr. Chairman, I do hope we will also be able to refocus our
efforts and develop a truly bipartisan approach to better
prevent and address wildfires across our nation. Thank you so
much.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you very much, Senator Carper.
We have today with us three individuals who will be
testifying. We will hear from our witnesses. Today we have Mr.
Bill Crapser, who is the State Forester for the State of
Wyoming; Mr. Miles Moretti, who is the President and CEO of the
Mule Deer Foundation; and Mr. Dylan Kruse, who is the Policy
Director for Sustainable Northwest.
I want to first introduce Mr. Crapser, who serves as
Wyoming's State Forester and recently served as the President
of the National Association of State Foresters.
I am very pleased, Bill, that you join us today. You have
served as the Wyoming State Forester since 2003. As part of
your leadership of the Wyoming State Forestry Division, you
know that collaborative work across the many private, State,
and Federal boundaries is the key to healthy forests across
Wyoming.
As a key member of Governor Mead's Task Force on Forests,
Bill helped to develop a series of recommendations to reduce
the threat of destructive wildfire through vegetation
management, to enhance forest health and wildlife habitat
across migration corridors, and to expand outdoor recreation
opportunities in healthy forests.
Bill provides critical expertise and is a valuable resource
when addressing challenging issues like those we will discuss
today.
So I appreciate you making the trip, Bill, to be with us.
And before asking you to testify, I would like to recognize
Senator Merkley to introduce his constituent who is here as
well.
Senator Merkley. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is a pleasure
to be able to welcome Dylan Kruse, who has made the trip from
Oregon to testify. He serves as the Policy Director for
Sustainable Northwest, an organization focused on resolving
conflict by developing solutions that improve community and
economic well being, while preserving healthy forests.
Mr. Kruse also serves as a member of the Real Voices for
Conservation Coalition, where he works with people across the
western United States in a collaborative manner to develop
solutions to challenges facing our public lands and our natural
resources.
I know that Mr. Kruse has been a great resource for my
staff. His work on natural resources and public land issues
will provide insight to this Committee as we discuss the
Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Act.
Thank you, Mr. Kruse, for making the trip out here and for
your work to bring people together from across a broad array of
perspectives.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you very much, Senator Merkley.
I also note that Mr. Moretti, who is here, you were born in
Evanston, Wyoming, I understand, and grew up in the Bridger
Valley. So we welcome you as well.
With that, I would like to remind the witnesses that your
full written testimony will be made part of the official
hearing record, so please try to keep your statements to 5
minutes so we may have time for questions.
Mr. Crapser, please begin.
STATEMENT OF BILL CRAPSER, STATE FORESTER,
WYOMING STATE FORESTRY DIVISION
Mr. Crapser. Thank you, Chairman Barrasso, Ranking Member
Carper, members of the Committee. My name is Bill Crapser. I
serve as the Wyoming State Forester. I am also the immediate
past President of the National Association of State Foresters.
Through the 2008 Farm Bill, State foresters were tasked
with developing State forest assessments and action plans for
all ownerships, including Federal. In 2013, our Governor,
Governor Mead, commissioned the Task Force on Forests. This was
a diverse group of Wyomingites who worked collaboratively for
over a year to create a vision for our forests. The Task
Force's No. 1 recommendation was to endorse and implement the
strategies and direction laid out by our State Forest Action
Plan.
In Wyoming, our State Forest Action Plan identifies the
areas of greatest risk for catastrophic wildfire, as well as
insects and disease. Much of these at risk forest areas are on
Federal land managed by the USDEA Forest Service. For a variety
of reasons, the Forest Service has not treated the majority of
at risk forested areas as identified in our plan. Much of the
challenge for Federal managers is due to overly burdensome
environmental regulations that are, in many cases, doing more
harm than good to Wyoming's forests. Frankly, we are quite
frustrated.
It is not just Federal lands that are impacted by this lack
of active management. Wildfires and insects and disease know no
boundaries, and virtually all catastrophic wildfires in Wyoming
burn through multiple ownerships.
The Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Act of 2017
addresses many of the regulatory challenges our Federal
partners face. Arbitration to resolve disputes would be
helpful. The use of categorical exclusions for forests at risk,
or wildfire and forest needing habitat improvement would also
be helpful. The ability to use CEs, or categorical exclusions,
for making decisions on salvaging burned and beetle killed
timber so that the wood will still have value when sold would
be most helpful. Expansion of the Good Neighbor Authority that
has been a huge success so far would really be helpful. There
is increasing opportunity through this Authority for States to
implement federally approved projects, NEPA completed, with
State personnel. We applaud the bill's sponsors for this
thoughtful piece of legislation.
NASF has a policy platform with specific and detailed
Federal forest reform--a copy is attached to my written
testimony--as well as a Forest Resource Committee and Fire
Management Committee comprised of State foresters from around
the nation, and could offer assistance to these important
issues. We believe we can help the Committee in fine tuning the
details of this bill. In addition, we would ask that the
Committee consider language which would encourage Federal
managers to consult their State Forest Action Plans and work
closely with State foresters to ensure Federal resources are
focused on the highest priorities.
While regulatory reform is a significant part of today's
challenge in addressing our overgrown and insect and disease
prone forests, there are other factors that would help as well.
We need a solution to the way Federal wildfire suppression is
funded. This fire season has been one of the most devastating
in history. The Forest Service's budget for fire suppression
has grown from less than 20 percent to more than 50 percent of
the agency's total budget. This will have repercussions not
only on Federal land, but for the funding of State and private
forestry programs across the country. These programs include
State Fire Assistance and Volunteer Fire Assistance, which fund
much of the nation's initial attack on Federal lands.
In Wyoming and across the nation, a private forest
landowner who works with our staff and with the forest
stewardship program is almost three times as likely to manage
his forest as a landowner without a management plan. Helped by
State Fire Assistance and Volunteer Fire Assistance, every
county in Wyoming now has a Community Wildfire Protection plan.
Also, much of our wildland fire equipment and training which we
use to respond to both private and Federal fires comes from
this program. In addition, through the support of community
forestry programs, half of Wyoming's communities are designated
as ``Tree City USAs.'' This has a huge impact on the quality of
life, stormwater control, air quality, and carbon capture in
these communities.
Again, we applaud the Chairman and the Environment and
Public Works Committee for making the health of our Federal
forests a top priority. I know the nation's State foresters
stand ready to work with you to address these most important
challenges.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Crapser follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator Barrasso. Thank you, Mr. Crapser.
Mr. Moretti.
STATEMENT OF MILES MORETTI, PRESIDENT/CEO,
MULE DEER FOUNDATION
Mr. Moretti. Thank you, Chairman Barrasso and Ranking
Member Carper and members of the Committee. My name is Miles
Moretti. I am the President and CEO of the Mule Deer
Foundation. We are the premier wildlife conservation group
working on mule deer, black-tailed deer, and their habitat. I
also am a proud professional member of the Boone and Crockett
Club, and have served as a past Chair and current Board Member
of the Intermountain West Joint Venture.
I appreciate the opportunity to testify today in support of
the draft Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Act of 2017. The
draft legislation is an important step toward the enactment of
bipartisan solutions to address a national forest health crisis
which addresses the threat of catastrophic wildland fires in a
manner that yields significant benefits for wildlife
populations and their habitat.
In particular, the Foundation appreciates the inclusion of
the Sage Grouse and Mule Deer Habitat Conservation and
Restoration Bill, which was coauthored by the senior Senator
from the State of Utah--Senator Hatch--and Senator Heinrich, in
cooperation with sportsmen's conservation organizations, the
private sector, and other stakeholders.
And I would like to say that when we put this bill together
with Senator Hatch and Senator Heinrich, and we had groups like
Boone and Crockett, National Wildlife Federation, and the
American Petroleum Institute all give quotes in a press
release, I had people call me and say, I don't know what is in
your bill, but if you can get all those people to help sponsor
this bill and support this bill, I am for it.
So, with that, in order to achieve our mission, the
Foundation works with a diverse cross-section of Federal and
State government partners, nonprofit conservation
organizations, and the private sector, particularly the oil and
gas industry, to undertake projects to create, restore, and
protect sage habitat.
While the motivation for engaging in these projects may
differ across these partnerships, the model of working together
to achieve our shared goal of reversing declining trends in the
populations of sage dependent species has proven successful
time and again.
A primary impediment to replicating the successful
collaborative model is the onerous and unnecessary and
duplicative requirements of a full National Environmental
Policy Act review of projects that would be better allowed to
proceed under a categorical exclusion.
While we have moved forward on many projects in the West,
we have three projects that are being held up by the lack of
NEPA being conducted by BLM. In my experience, time delays
resulting from current NEPA requirements stem not only from a
lack of human and financial resources, but from the fact that a
full NEPA review, when applied to projects for which NEPA was
intended to apply, are inherently time consuming. We are not
asking to pass this bill to circumvent the process, but to
expedite the process on projects using proven practices that we
know will have net conservation benefits.
My ask of you today is that you help us restore our forests
and rangelands to a healthy condition by giving us the tools
and flexibility to accomplish that tool, and we believe that
whatever form that takes, we need action now. There is just so
many wildfires in the West, and they are becoming such
catastrophic events that we need to get proactive. The hands
off approach has not worked. We need a hands on approach to
working with our partners in restoring healthy forests and
rangelands.
Thank you for your time and allowing me to testify before
you today. I look forward to answering any questions you may
have.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Moretti follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator Barrasso. Thank you very much for your testimony,
Mr. Moretti.
Mr. Kruse.
STATEMENT OF DYLAN KRUSE, POLICY DIRECTOR, SUSTAINABLE
NORTHWEST
Mr. Kruse. Chairman Barrasso, Ranking Member Carper,
members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to
testify. My name is Dylan Kruse, and I am the Policy Director
at Sustainable Northwest. We are a regional nonprofit located
in Portland, Oregon, developing solutions to natural resource
challenges that maintain working lands and promote
environmental stewardship. I appreciate the chance to speak
with you all today, as the subject matter could not be more
urgent.
Sustainable Northwest is a strong supporter of active
forest management that sustains ecosystem resiliency, supports
natural resource livelihoods, and protects life and property.
Unfortunately, the Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Act will
do little to address the underlying challenges affecting the
health of our Federal forests, and omits critical opportunities
to address the rising costs and threats of wildfire.
We are troubled by proposals that shortcut environmental
laws, create bureaucracy, and introduce unnecessary authorities
likely to cause increased tension in land management planning
and decisionmaking.
Regarding Title I of the bill, we recognize the need for a
legislative fix to conflicting court decisions about
consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service. We commend the
Committee for swift resolution on this matter, but urge you to
work with interested parties to improve the legislation based
on two principles: that forest restoration projects should be
permitted to proceed in a timely fashion, and that we should
not diminish the integrity of the Endangered Species Act.
We are particularly troubled by Title III of the bill.
Section 311, on Environmental Assessments. Discretion and
timely decisionmaking are imperative in the production of any
environmental review, and we expect agencies to exercise
prudence to satisfy sufficiency. However, the Forest Service
should retain independent decisionmaking authority that relies
on its technical and scientific expertise when selecting the
appropriate criteria and level of detail to be incorporated
into analysis.
In Section 314, on an Alternative Dispute Process,
introducing a binding arbitration process with agencies and
restricting the ability of the public to file legal challenges
undermines essential tenets of our democratic process. We
appreciate the intent to reduce litigation and expedite legal
resolution, but have not seen evidence proving that arbitration
will result in a different outcome than judicial review. It
also prohibits case law for future precedent and is vague on
expectations and qualifications for arbitrators.
And Section 332 to 336 on Categorical Exclusions, we agree
that there is a pressing need to increase the pace and scale of
restoration, but the Forest Service already has at least 25
internal categorical exclusions, as well as 5 additional
authorities in statute. CEs and streamlined options already
exist for insect and disease treatments, hazardous fuels
reduction, protection of water sources, and salvage logging.
This is not to say that review of NEPA is not warranted.
We are pleased to note that the Forest Service experts are
already reviewing environmental authorities and opportunities
for efficiency. We urge the Committee to let the agency
complete this process and propose new approaches based on data
driven analysis.
So, as far as alternatives for success, in contrast to the
broad reforms in the proposed legislation, we suggest a more
targeted approach that addresses the causes of extreme
wildfire, reforms budgets, and utilizes existing authorities.
First of all, we must fix fire funding. Unlike other
natural disasters, the Forest Service and Department of
Interior are required to pay for wildfire response out of their
annual budgets and transfer funds when they exceed their
allocation. More than 50 percent of the Forest Service budget
is consumed by wildfire suppression. By 2021 it will be 67
percent. We must address this now.
We need to seek a comprehensive solution. Alternative
bipartisan proposals such as the Wildland Fires Act of 2017
more effectively address the causes of wildfire and provide
resources to prepare for and prevent future wildfires. This
includes funding to at risk communities, investment in forest
products infrastructure and work force, and incentives for cost
savings to complete restoration.
We need to use the tools we already have. The 2014 Farm
Bill authorized stewardship contracting, Good Neighbor
Authority, insect and disease designations, and designation by
prescription and description in timber sales. These tools have
been embraced by partners, as you have heard, but have just
recently been adopted.
We need to support collaboration. Oregon and Washington are
home to 33 forest collaboratives. A recent academic review of
the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program showed
that 75 percent of respondents said the program resulted in
decreased conflict, and 61 percent had seen decreased
litigation. Federal agencies should adopt collaborative
recommendations to the maximum extent possible.
We need to get ahead of the problem. We continue to take a
reactive approach to wildfire, instead of proactively
addressing its causes. In Oregon and Washington alone, there
are over 2 million acres of forests that have already completed
NEPA but have yet to be carried out due to funding. These
projects will reduce fuel loads, improve forest health, and
allow fire to return in a controlled and beneficial way. But
Congress must be willing to pay for them.
And thus we must invest accordingly. Landscape restoration
will only be implemented with appropriate investment from
Congress. This includes funding for collaborative initiatives
and programs that cut across ownership boundaries, leverage
resources, and achieve integrated outcomes. However, funding
levels in President Trump's fiscal year 2018 budget propose a
dire and austere vision for our Federal lands and rural
communities. Instead, we should sustain land management agency
funding levels as included in the fiscal year 2017
appropriations bill.
In closing, with these conditions in place, significant
gains could be made to improve the health of our landscapes,
create natural resource jobs, and secure the safety of rural
and urban communities.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Kruse follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator Barrasso. Thank you very much, Mr. Kruse.
I thank all of you for your testimony. We will now turn to
some questions.
Mr. Crapser, how would this legislation before us today
lead to increased programmatic efficiency and effectiveness in
what you do?
Mr. Crapser. Mr. Chairman, I think any tools in the Forest
Service's toolbox potentially help with their efficiency. If
you look at the CE language, there has been some hesitancy on
the agency's part to utilize some of the CEs under the current
Farm Bill. I think the big thing that it does, it gives them
more tools, it gives them more options when they look at any
management concerns.
Senator Barrasso. When we talk about tools, the Good
Neighbor Authority can be an important tool that allows the
Forest Service to work with States so they can perform
watershed restoration, forest management services. Congress
enacted two different Good Neighbor Authorities under the
Department of Interior a couple of years ago. Do you see
benefits in a single national Good Neighbor Authority as
provided by this Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Act?
Mr. Crapser. Mr. Chairman, yes, I do. I think any time we
have conflicting authorities, even though they are relatively
the same, it causes confusion. As I understand it, the current
Authorities, one that was in the Appropriations Bill, will
actually expire a year from now. I believe the other one is
long term, the one that was in the Farm Bill. There are some
issues with road construction and road reconstruction in the
two. Having one that is consistent would be helpful for both
States and for the Federal agencies.
Senator Barrasso. Mr. Moretti, kind of a two part question
about NEPA. Do you believe that the existing NEPA structure is
sufficiently effective and flexible in terms of promoting
effective forest management? And then the second part is why do
you think it is necessary to have categorical exclusions, which
we outline in this Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Act of
2017, to help expedite the forest management projects?
Mr. Moretti. Well, overall, the NEPA process as the law is
good, but it has been interpreted so many different ways, and
it is holding up our projects and has become so cumbersome. And
what we are also finding is the agencies no longer have the
budget and the manpower to deal with NEPA on these projects
that we are working on that are projects that are probably
going back into an area that had NEPA done on them over 20
years ago, 30 years ago.
We are doing maintenance in a lot of these areas. We are
trying to reduce this invasion of pinyon-juniper that is coming
in and invading sage habitat and mule deer habitat. So we
believe that the categorical exclusions can help us expedite
this process, get this going as you see what is going on in the
West, whether it is on BLM land. People forget that over 2
million acres of sage grouse habitat burned up this year, and a
lot of that was pinyon-juniper country that just burned into
the sage habitat. So it is more that we need expedited, to have
the flexibility to get out there and get these projects done.
Senator Barrasso. It seems that environmental laws and
regulations affecting forest management projects do play an
important role in protecting wildlife and habitat, but projects
are often halted; not over compliance issues, but by litigation
and appeals of the litigation. This Wildfire Prevention and
Mitigation Act would establish a pilot arbitration process to
conduct alternative dispute resolutions over forest management
activities.
Do you see value in this legislation's arbitration
provision in terms of solving some of the disputes that
basically have an impact on the work that is trying to be done?
Mr. Moretti. Well, I think anything that brings the parties
to the table to work it out, and hopefully they would be able
to work it out before there is a decision, so there isn't a
winner and a loser. But believing that getting people face to
face around a table and working things out, and finding those
touchpoints that are causing the conflict. I think when
reasonable people get together, they can make reasonable
decisions.
Senator Barrasso. And Mr. Crapser, the Wildfire Prevention
Act makes several references to collaboration. Can you provide
the Committee with maybe a couple of examples of collaboration
in our State that have benefited Wyoming's natural resources?
And as a State forester, how do you think of the term
collaboration?
Mr. Crapser. Mr. Chairman, I think we have had some great
successes on both recreation collaboratives and on forest
management vegetative collaboratives across the State, in the
Big Horns. In the western part of the State, on the Bridger-
Teton we have an active collaborative working right now that I
think will come up with some good solutions, some community
based solutions.
I think collaboration, like a lot of buzz words, we love to
throw the term collaboration around and collaboratives around,
and I think a lot of times it requires us to just old fashion
work together and roll up our sleeves and talk to one another
to see what is the best for our forests.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you.
Thank you all.
Senator Carper.
Senator Carper. Let me just ask my Democratic colleagues,
anybody on a tight timeline? If so, I will yield to you.
Anybody? I see none. OK, good. In that case, I will take 15
minutes. Not really. All right, here we go.
My colleagues know one of the things I always search for
when we have a hearing on an issue about which there is not
unanimity is that I like to use a panel like you to help us
find the common ground where it is missing.
Let me just ask this multi-part question, but first, ask
each of you to briefly mention three things we talked about
here today where you think there is agreement among the three
of you. Three things. Important points.
Mr. Crapser.
Mr. Crapser. Listening to my colleagues on the panel, I
would think we would be in agreement that collaboration and
folks working together is a good thing; you can make better
decisions. I think utilizing the Good Neighbor Authority and
the Federal agencies working closer with the State, with the
State Forest Action Plans, with the State Wildlife Plans, I
think we would probably all be in agreement that that is a
positive thing. And I think at the end of the day the other
thing we all would find in agreement, we probably all want what
is best for the forests, for the wildlife, and for the folks
that recreate and live around our forests.
Senator Carper. All right. Thank you.
How do you pronounce your name, Miles?
Mr. Moretti. Moretti.
Senator Carper. Moretti. Thank you so much. Mr. Moretti.
Mr. Moretti. Ranking Member Carper, I appreciate that
question because I think we all agree that what we have done in
the past has not worked, and that we are facing some extreme
conditions that we have never faced before, and we need to be
proactive and we need to be aggressive, and that is everything
in funding, fixing those administrative barriers to getting the
job done. And I think as my friend from Wyoming says, I think
we can all agree that--bottom line--we want to see a healthy
forest and healthy rangelands.
We may disagree on how we get there, but I think our end
goals are all the same.
Senator Carper. All right. Thanks.
Mr. Kruse. Senator Carper, I definitely agree with my
colleagues on the panel. We certainly want to see active
management for improved forest, watershed, and community
conditions. I think we all agree on the need for a
comprehensive wildfire funding fix; I think we all see a clear
and defined role for collaboration to help get us to those
outcomes; and I think we all agree on the need to invest in our
Federal land management agencies to get the work done.
Senator Carper. That is quite a bit of agreement.
Let me just ask you a follow up question. Where is the most
significant disagreement, the most significant disagreement
that we face, from your perspective, and how would you
recommend that we address that disagreement to reach our
differences?
Very briefly, Mr. Crapser.
Mr. Crapser. Senator, I think the devil being in the
details, as the old saying goes, is probably----
Senator Carper. I have never heard that before.
Mr. Crapser [continuing]. Where most of the disagreement
would come. I think on how we get there, I think there is, for
whatever reason, lack of trust between different communities
involved in natural resources on trusting that other parts of
the community are really out for the same thing that they are
and are trying to do the right thing. So I think the biggest
area of disagreement is understanding or misunderstanding of
the trail we want to follow to get to where we need to go.
That is kind of--I didn't really answer your question, I
feel, but that is, I think, the biggest issue we face.
Senator Carper. OK. And again, there is a second part to
the question. That is the biggest. How do we bridge that.
But go ahead, Mr. Moretti. What I am really interested in
is how do we go about bridging the major difference that you
see. The 800 pound gorilla in the room, if you will; how do we
bridge that?
Mr. Moretti. Well, I have always found that the way you
bridge and get together with disagreements is you sit around
the table and look each other in the eye. And everybody is
going to come to the table with their agenda, and I think that
the trust has to be there, and if you don't have the trust that
people are there trying to do the right thing, and everybody
thinks that you have some hidden agenda, I think if we can put
that on the table and sit down and hammer it out, again I go
back to reasonable people can come up with a reasonable
solution, and we need that out there.
I mean, we are literally dying out there. Our forests are
dying; we are having catastrophic fires that are taking human
toll, and we need help. So we have to get serious people to the
table to figure out how to fix this.
Senator Carper. Good.
Same question, Mr. Kruse.
Mr. Kruse. Senator Carper, trust is certainly the operative
word there. I think for certain members of the natural
resources community this distrust is fostered by the notion
that we are changing the rules of the game, when we begin to
look at certain reforms especially to bedrock environmental
policy like NEPA. Our recommendation as far as overcoming that
distrust is, again, to focus on all of the authorities that we
have.
What can we do with stewardship contracting? What can we do
with Good Neighbor Authority? What can we do with our
categorical exclusions, with the Healthy Forest Restoration
Act? We already have lots of tools to do action, no action,
alternatives, to expedite judicial review, and those have been
passed by Congress in a bipartisan fashion. This is a question
of leadership, and it is a question of investment and funding.
And if we are creating the conditions for success, and we
have already enabled a playing field where we can succeed, it
is about direction from this Congress to those agencies and to
the general public about what we are trying to accomplish. But
we certainly have the tools and the resources available to us
as far as the mechanisms to meet the rule of the law, to meet
environmental stewardship and get work done, but we have to
invest in it, and we have to foster that bipartisan spirit,
rather than change and move the goal posts.
Senator Carper. Excellent. Thank you so much.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you, Senator Carper.
Senator Boozman.
Senator Boozman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you all
for being here. I think Senator Carper's question about what we
can agree on was really very, very good, and that is what we
try and do, and those are the things that we ought to be able
to get done. I think everybody in this room, listening to you
all, listening to your testimony, agrees that we can't continue
to spend 50 percent of the dollars that we spend on fire
suppression. It just makes no sense at all.
So I would like for you to talk, whoever wants to jump out,
and then we will go down the panel, tell me about when you are
spending that many dollars on that and you don't have any money
to really do the job on managing things, tell me the impact of
that. Tell me why that is such a huge problem.
Mr. Moretti. Well, Senator, I can tell you from our
standpoint what happens a lot of times, we are out on the
forests, around the BLM, we are doing projects, doing active
management, and a lot of times we will get shut down come the
fire season because everybody is gone, and then they are having
to pull their budget back.
So, you know, projects that we have, we have contractors on
the ground, and we are ready to go, and we just can't move
forward; we have to shut down, and then we may not get started
until the next year; it may be delayed. So those are the kinds
of things that affect us, and the agency gets shut down, and
basically they do nothing but fight fires during that fire
season, and there needs to be a better way of conducting
business.
Senator Boozman. And in not managing the ecosystem, doing
the management because of what you describe, you are pulling
this off all over the country; what is the effect of that?
Mr. Moretti. Well, we don't get the projects done that can
help alleviate the problem we are talking about. So with some
active management and being proactive in these areas, we can go
in and we can make sure that the forest is in a good, healthy
condition. We have actually had projects in Arizona where some
large wildfires have happened, and when they have gotten to one
of these projects that we have done, mostly for wildlife, the
fire has slowed down; it has not gone out, but it has slowed
down. And a lot of times these projects that we are doing serve
as kind of a fire break and are really helpful.
Senator Boozman. Mr. Kruse, before you do, it is sad, we
have heard testimony here about people in fire prone areas,
people who have had devastating fires and talking about the
managed areas, many of them private areas that are managed
well, and then you have the areas that we are managing, and
they are raging infernos compared to the other and really part
of the problem.
Mr. Kruse.
Mr. Kruse. Senator Boozman, I agree with Mr. Moretti,
certainly. The challenge associated with the funding budget
situation is that we are unable to do the work on the ground
because it is consumed by fire funding. The Forest Service has
become the Fire Service. And a comprehensive wildfire funding
fix includes access to disaster funding; it minimizes the need
to do those transfers, so the agency doesn't halt its work
during fire season, and it freezes or minimizes the
cannibalization of the agency's budget because of the rising
cost of the 10 year average. The result of that is potentially
hundreds of millions of additional dollars that are freed up to
do this management work on the ground; to do that thinning, to
do that fuels reduction, to do those prescribed burns to
protect communities.
I mentioned 2 million acres of forestland in Oregon and
Washington that have already been approved for NEPA to go
through that management process. With money we could save from
a fire funding fix, we could get that work done.
Senator Boozman. Very good.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Crapser. Senator, kind of as my colleagues have already
talked about, it is almost a self-fulfilling prophecy that we
are in right now. We have high fuel loadings, poor forest
conditions, large fires. The Fire Service uses all their money
to fight fires, so they don't do their hazardous fuels work,
and we just keep going down the road. It impacts the Forest
Service's ability to do Federal land management.
It also impacts, where we are at with wildland fires now,
the State's ability to help private landowners. As you know,
large parts of State Forestry's budgets come from the Forest
Service for State and private projects. Those funds are
somewhat up for grabs during fire borrowing. Also, our folks
are helping the Forest Service on fires, so we have the same
issues during the summer. So it ends up being a self-fulfilling
prophecy again, just that we keep moving into a worse and worse
situation.
Senator Boozman. Good. Thank you. And we do appreciate all
of your all's hard work very much.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you, Senator Boozman.
The order I have based on arrival of the Democratic members
is Senator Merkley next, then Senator Harris, and then Senator
Whitehouse, if that is agreeable to you in the order in which
you have arrived.
Senator Merkley.
Senator Merkley. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I appreciate your testimony.
Mr. Moretti, I believe you were speaking to the fact that
when thinning and hazardous fuels are reduced, the forest can
become much more naturally resistant to fires. Did I understand
that correctly?
Mr. Moretti. Yes.
Senator Merkley. And Mr. Crapser, would you agree with
that?
Mr. Crapser. Yes, Senator, I think I would.
Senator Merkley. And Mr. Kruse?
Mr. Kruse. Yes, Senator.
Senator Merkley. So I was very struck. I was visiting
eastern Oregon this last weekend, and central Oregon, and I
went up to a forest outside of Sisters, where the fires had
raged, and they were coming toward the town, and they stopped.
And why did they stop? Well, because this forest had been
thinned, it had had its hazardous fuels removed, some many
years ago, and it had a 15 year or so prescription burn done
that had reduced the grass and brush that had grown up over
those years. And it really helped the Forest Service get in and
fight the fire, also, because it was much easier to move about
in this forest that had been thinned.
So it seems like we have several things that I think
everyone agrees with, and I will just say them out loud. We
need to fix fire funding so that we are not continuously
draining all the other programs in the Forest Service; that
thinning and hazardous fuels reduction has a positive outcome
both for forests as timber stands, as healthier ecosystems that
supply saw logs to the mill, and it makes the forest more
resistant.
Are there any of those points that any of you would
disagree with?
[All witnesses shook their head in the negative.]
Senator Merkley. So we have, just in Oregon and Washington,
as you pointed out, Mr. Kruse, 2 million acres. I know we have
1.6 million acres in Oregon, so I guess a smaller number in
Washington State, that have already gone through the
environmental process. The only thing that stops us from
adopting this strategy which produces saw logs, makes the
forest healthier, makes it fire resistant is funding. So why
not concentrate on getting the funding to do these things and
the fire borrowing, and get the funding to do the work up
front?
My concern about some of the proposals is when there is
that easily available and very effective solution, as soon as
many of us hear, well, let's authorize no environmental review
and clear cuts, it is just the timber wars of the past, instead
of actually a strategy to make the forests healthier, supply
saw logs. Why go back to the timber wars of the past if we have
the solution sitting right in front of us?
Mr. Kruse.
Mr. Kruse. Senator Merkley, I agree strongly with what you
are suggesting. I think part of the challenge that we have here
is a series of categorical exclusions that have expanded beyond
what the intent of a categorical exclusion should, by
definition, be, which is having no direct impact, no indirect
impact, or no cumulative impacts. So we are taking a tool that
can and appropriately be used in certain situations and being
expanded to something that it should not be.
More importantly, as you mentioned, we should be focusing
on those existing authorities to actually address these
challenges at a landscape scale. We should be investing in
programs like the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration
Program. We should be doing programmatic environmental impact
statements.
We want to have an impact on the land, as you noted. That
is not accomplished with the category of exclusion that has no
impact. We shouldn't be treating 1 or 3 or 6,000 acres at a
time; we should be treating hundreds of thousands of acres. And
with adequate funding and authorization of those programs and
utilization of all of our existing authorities, we can and
should be able to do that without returning to the rhetoric and
the conflict of the timber wars.
Senator Merkley. I do think many of you or maybe all of you
have spoken to the cycle we are trapped in of we are just
depleting the funding on the front end to do the hazardous
fuels and the thinning, and then we are spending it on the back
end. And breaking that cycle is something I think Democrats,
Republicans, and everyone on every side of this could agree
with.
We have a mill up in John Day, Oregon, that was going to go
out of business, and I met with the millworkers and said I
would do everything I could to help keep that mill open. But
you couldn't do it through a timber sale because that didn't
give the at least 10 year horizon that the owner needed to be
able to invest in equipment for the mill.
So we were able to do it through a stewardship agreement.
And that meant that the forest was healthier, they got a steady
supply of saw logs, so they employed more people at the mill.
In a small town, that is a really big deal.
And I am out of time, but you are welcome to respond if the
Chair will allow it. Why not focus on these tools that are
right before us that everyone on this panel agrees with?
Mr. Crapser. Senator, I think there is a lot of good tools
out there that we can already use; however, not all the West,
not all the Forest Service is as far ahead on NEPA documents as
I think Washington and Oregon obviously are. One advantage that
I see in categorical exclusions, or one of the advantages I see
in categorical exclusion is, first, to clarify, a CE is an
environmental document, it is part of NEPA, it is covered under
NEPA. And it takes about 7 months to put together the analysis
for a CE; it takes about 2 and a half years for an EA or an
environmental assessment.
While I think a lot of our tools are very good that we
have, I think we have had a tendency, because of fire
borrowing, because of lots of other reasons that you have
talked to that we do have to address, to not have a sense of
urgency. On some of the mountain pine beetle areas, some of the
fire salvage areas, I think in those areas, in particular,
there is a need of urgency to try to get things done in a
fairly rapid form.
Mr. Kruse. Senator Merkley, I don't want to belabor the
point because I certainly and strongly agree with your
comments. I do just want to thank you. To the point we have had
a lot of great successes in Oregon and Washington, and that is
a testament to the leadership that we have had in our region,
so thank you for your continued advocacy to identify and pacify
our funding fix.
Thank you for your advocacy to fight for surge funding in
this Congress to get additional investments to help our
communities recover from the devastating fires we have seen
this year, including the Chetco Bar and the Eagle Creek fire in
Oregon. We are reeling from that. We need to help rebuild our
communities, and we need to get additional investments to start
to get ahead of the problem. So thank you for your leadership
on that.
Senator Merkley. Thank you.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you very much, Senator Merkley.
I am going to introduce letters and testimony in support of
the Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Act of 2017. There are
78 testimonies and letters received from a diverse group of
stakeholders representing conservation and sportsmen's group,
farmers, ranchers, counties, water and irrigation
organizations, forestry job creators, all in support for the
staff draft bill into the record. Without objection.
[The referenced information follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator Barrasso. Senator Harris.
Senator Harris. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
As has been mentioned and I think is widely known, the
recent wildfires in my home State have been devastating to
California. I was there last week. For hundreds of miles
surrounding the wildfire devastation and disaster, you could
see and smell the smoke. It has presented health issues to
surrounding communities that will linger.
When I went there, I actually flew over in a Black Hawk
with the Governor and others to survey the scene from the air
and see the path of the wildfire. I then walked the
neighborhoods that had been devastated, and I will tell you
seeing those neighborhoods, all of the houses had been
destroyed. They were gone. Ash. The only thing standing were
the chimneys. And I will tell you when I looked at it, what I
saw, it looked like a graveyard, and the chimneys looked like
tombstones.
I met with the residents of those communities in the
evacuation centers. They are devastated. And the impact, the
trauma, the emotional, the physical; we lost 42 lives. I met
firefighters who lost their own homes and were battling the
fire knowing they had nothing to return to. I met one
firefighter who was at one of the centers. He was wearing
sweatshirt and sweatpants that someone loaned him because he
had been fighting the fires but he had nothing to change into
because his home had been destroyed.
So the devastation is very real, and I think this Committee
understands in a very bipartisan way that we need to address
the issue, and we need to address the issue, as my colleagues
have discussed. It includes understanding that, for example, in
California we have over 245,000 acres that have been destroyed.
That is about 5 times the size of DC. Eighty-four hundred homes
and buildings have been destroyed. So it is true devastation.
So, Mr. Kruse, I have a question for you. After speaking
with California Fire Chief Ken Pimlott, I have become very
aware and it has become clear to me that Congress needs to
reform our outdated budgetary practices, and in particular,
those that do not treat wildfires like other disasters.
Do you agree that wildfires are in fact disasters and
should be treated as such?
Mr. Kruse. Senator Harris, thank you for the question.
Wildfires are certainly a natural part of the ecosystem and
part of our forested landscapes, but unfortunately, because of
the effects of climate change, longer, hotter, drier fire
seasons, extensive fuel build up in 100 years of fire
suppression, we are seeing increasing numbers of these
wildfires becoming extreme disasters, and they should
absolutely be categorized as such.
Senator Harris. Thank you. Currently, more than 50 percent
of the Forest Service's budget is dedicated to fire
suppression, leaving little money for forest management, which
has been the discussion here. Do you believe we have dedicated
enough Federal funding to the Forest Service to help prevent
and mitigate the likelihood of a wildfire before it happens?
Mr. Kruse. Senator Harris, we certainly have not, and we
have shovel ready projects to invest in both planning and
implementation right now. We desperately need additional
investment.
Senator Harris. My colleagues and I have cosponsored a
bipartisan bill that is known as the Wildfire Disaster Funding
Act. This bill would allow for wildfires to be treated like
other disasters and allow States to access emergency funding
through FEMA. Do you think that this bill would help mitigate
the harm and the damage caused by wildfires?
Mr. Kruse. Senator Harris, absolutely. In fact, when the
Wildfire Disaster Funding Act was introduced in the last
Congress, it was the most bipartisan bill of the Congress. Over
150 bipartisan, bicameral cosponsors and over 200 organizations
from environmental communities, industry, counties, and
recreation and wildlife groups all support that legislation. It
is imperative that we pass it. We should be able to do it
immediately.
Senator Harris. I appreciate your expertise on this panel.
Mr. Crapser, the Forest Service estimated last year that
there are nearly 102 million dead trees in California forests.
This is especially concerning right now because it contributes,
obviously, to wildfires. Are you familiar with tree mortality
issues?
Mr. Crapser. Yes.
Senator Harris. And California fire officials have told me
that our State uses its own resources to remove dead trees on
Federal lands like national forests, which should be, I
believe, an obligation of the United States Forest Service. Are
you aware of other States that have had to use their own
resources to remove dead trees from Federal land?
Mr. Crapser. Senator, in Wyoming, which we are a small
State, we have about 4.5 million acres of mountain pine beetle
impacted areas. In the last 6 years, the legislature has
actually appropriated probably a total of about $7 million for
us to use for bark beetle projects on private, State, and on
Federal lands. So we have used State money on Federal land, and
I know other States have done the same.
Senator Harris. And then my final question, I know my time
has expired, but would you agree that Federal funds managed by
the U.S. Forest Service should be used to remove dead trees
from Federal lands?
Mr. Crapser. Senator, I think Federal funds with the
managed Forest Service should be used for managing our Federal
lands. There are some places where dead trees are probably
appropriate to leave. They should be used for the effective
management of our lands.
Senator Harris. And would removal of dead trees be included
in that?
Mr. Crapser. Yes.
Senator Harris. Thank you.
Thank you. I have nothing else.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you very much, Senator Harris.
Senator Whitehouse.
Senator Whitehouse. Thank you, Chairman. Let me first ask
unanimous consent to enter into the record a number of letters
from concerned stakeholders, including Center for Justice and
Democracy, Public Citizen, and the Wilderness Society.
Senator Barrasso. Without objection.
[The referenced information follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator Whitehouse. Thank you very much, Chairman.
Gentlemen, what is the connection between carbon emissions,
climate change, and the wildfire season?
Mr. Kruse. Thank you.
Senator Whitehouse. For the record, two Republican
witnesses gestured to the Democratic witness to have him answer
the question.
Mr. Kruse. Happy to inherit the question, Senator
Whitehouse. Thank you very much.
Senator Whitehouse. You are not going to get off that easy;
I will turn to you guys in a minute. And I know what the Boone
and Crockett Club has said about this, too, Mr. Moretti.
Mr. Kruse. There is clear and overwhelming consensus from
both objective scientists inside and outside of the agency that
climate change is absolutely having an effect on our forested
landscapes. The wildfire season is 2 months longer than it used
to be.
Senator Whitehouse. One month earlier and 1 month later,
right?
Mr. Kruse. Correct. We are fighting fire from April to
October right now.
Senator Whitehouse. When had that happened before?
Mr. Kruse. It has not; it has only been in the last 10 to
15 years that we have seen this. This is a recent phenomenon.
And as a result of that fuel build up, it is hotter, it is
drier, and it is continuing to dry out and build up year after
year after year. And as the temperature has continued to rise,
when we do have those fire conflagration events, they are
extreme. So there is a clear connection between carbon
emissions, climate change, and what we are now experiencing
with wildfire in our forests.
Senator Whitehouse. Factor bugs into that equation, like
the bark beetle. Does that have any effect on the
susceptibility of forests to wildfire, and is that connected to
climate change and carbon pollution?
Mr. Kruse. Senator Whitehouse, bark beetles, again, are a
natural part of forest ecosystems; however, as we do see the
habitat changing for bark beetle, and extending the season by
which they can migrate and mate, we are seeing increased
infestations.
Senator Whitehouse. Meaning they can survive in northern
latitudes and northern altitudes they couldn't get to before
because winters were killing them off, but milder winters
because of climate change are allowing them to move in those
directions?
Mr. Kruse. That is correct, Senator.
Senator Whitehouse. OK. And then how does that roll into
wildfires?
Mr. Kruse. As we continue to see increased die off of those
forests, they are less resilient. When wildfires move through,
we do have additional build up of fuels. And when fires do
occur, they are burning more of that fuel and they are more
extreme.
Senator Whitehouse. A dead tree burns faster than a living
one, ordinarily, correct?
Mr. Kruse. It certainly can in this case.
Senator Whitehouse. Mr. Moretti, agree or disagree?
Mr. Moretti. Well, I believe that whether it is climate
change or whether it is a lack of management, our forests are
in need of--they are in bad shape. They are in bad health.
Senator Whitehouse. That wasn't the question that you were
asked, though.
Mr. Moretti. But the question I am saying is is whether it
is climate change or whether it is lack of management----
Senator Whitehouse. And that is the question. What do you
have to say about whether it is or isn't climate change? Does
climate change have any role in this?
Mr. Moretti. Well, we believe that we have gone through a
much drier cycle in a lot of areas in the West. In this last
winter, in western Wyoming, we had one of the hardest winters
we ever had on record, so we believe that these forests are
under a huge amount of stress, again, whether it is through
climate change, lack of management, or whatever.
Senator Whitehouse. Do you have another explanation for why
the forest fire season or the wildfire season would have
expanded a month out in either direction? Could that in any
rational way be ascribed to management issues?
Mr. Moretti. Well, I think it can be. I think that when we
go through these periods of dry conditions and we have these
forest fuels build up and these dead trees that we haven't been
able to get out and harvest, that anything from manmade to
natural cause can start a forest fire; and once it starts, you
see how they are all-consuming. And as we have heard, there
have been millions of acres consumed this year.
Senator Whitehouse. So it sounds like what you are saying
is that the expansion of the wildfire season could be helped by
management practices that could reduce some of the fuel load
and so forth.
Mr. Moretti. We could reduce the fuel load.
Senator Whitehouse. But it is not management practices that
are actually expanding the wildfire season, is it?
Mr. Moretti. Well, it all depends. It depends on what is
causing those fires. If it is a manmade fire----
Senator Whitehouse. Now we get back to my original
question.
Mr. Moretti. I know. But if it is a manmade fire, it is
the----
Senator Whitehouse. Well, let me start by this. Do you
agree that the wildfire season has expanded by 2 months, as Mr.
Kruse has said?
Mr. Moretti. I will agree to that.
Senator Whitehouse. OK. And do you have an explanation as
to why that is happening on a consistent basis? It is not just
a one-off, that it happened in 1 year.
Mr. Moretti. No.
Senator Whitehouse. It is persistent, and it is at trend
now, is it not?
Mr. Moretti. That is not my area of expertise.
Senator Whitehouse. OK.
Mr. Crapser, anything to add? You only have about a second.
Mr. Crapser. Mr. Chairman and Senator, I think if we look
at the wildfire season over the last 50 years, we have seen an
increase in the fire season. If we look historically, in the
early 1900s, we had a period of years with very long fire
reasons.
I am not an expert in carbon; I am not an expert in climate
change. I do know that investing in forest management means
healthier forests, less fires, less carbon emissions. I do know
that.
Senator Whitehouse. Thank you, Chairman.
Thank you to the witnesses.
Senator Barrasso. Thank you very much, Senator Whitehouse.
For Mr. Crapser or Mr. Moretti, there was a question
earlier about funding, if we had enough funding. Is funding
alone enough, or do we need some regulatory changes as well?
Mr. Crapser. Mr. Chairman, I believe it is hand in hand.
Funding is a huge issue on the fire funding, I believe on
overall support of our Federal lands, Federal land management.
But I also think tools that can help industry, can help maybe
alleviate some of the funding issues are also important, as the
CE for salvage and fire, both insect disease and fire salvage
would be.
Senator Barrasso. It is interesting, this discussion of
climate. I am just going to point out to my colleague that
there was an article in The Economist this past weekend that
just came out on Friday called ``Paleoclimatology: A Stormy
Past.'' It has to do with hurricanes, and the subheadline is
``Geological Traces of Ancient Hurricanes Show How Hard Climate
Science Is.'' This is The Economist that is currently on the
market. You can pick it up on a newsstand.
And they talked about what is happening in Florida, and it
says, ``Geological survey suggests that the hurricanes which
struck Florida during a cool period 12,000 years ago were more
powerful than those during a subsequent time of war.'' Just the
difficulty of trying to get all the information together from a
scientific standpoint.
Well, I appreciate each of you being here today to testify.
I thank you very much for your comments. There are other
members of the Committee who may have written questions. I
would ask that you respond promptly to those. The hearing
record will be open for the next 2 weeks. Thank you again for
being here and sharing your knowledge and your insight.
The hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 12:02 p.m. the Committee was adjourned.]
[The text of S._, the Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation
Act of 2017, follows:]
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