Senator Mark Udall (D. CO) is curious to know how the U.S. Forest Service will handle the sequester:
http://blogs.gazette.com/...
Colorado Sen. Mark Udall, chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, questioned U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell Tuesday about how the agency plans to grapple with budget cuts that could impact its ability to fight fire this season.
The forest service expects to add next generation, or modernized air tankers, to its fleet this month, but will still have to deal with cuts to its fire suppression programs. In short, although it has yet to get seriously underway, wildfire season 2013 could be an expensive endeavor for the agency.
As of last week, the 2014 budget was a done deal–and the forest service announced that it will be cutting funds to its fire suppression program by 37 percent. For the committee of senators from Oregon, Alaska, Wyoming, Colorado and Minnesota, that will come as big blow, particularly as the country gears up for another potentially record-breaking wildfire season.
Both fire suppression and preparedness funds were cut, Tidwell told the committee. There are about 87 million acres of forest lands that need fuel treatment–the cutting down of trees, and thinning of forests to make them less of a breeding ground for megafires–but the forest service’s hazardous fuel reduction budget will be focused entirely on red zones, where people live. - Colorado Springs Gazette, 4/16/13
Here's a little background info on how the sequester affects forest services:
http://www.kcoy.com/...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture oversees and administers the Forest Service and the Los Padres National Forest.
The USDA estimates the automatic cuts under the sequester will slash as much as $2 billion from its annual budget and will force furloughs on one-third of its employees.
As a result, the USDA projects the closure of some 19,000 recreation sites including Forest campgrounds, picnic areas and trailheads under sequestration
Sequestration in the Forest Service would also most likely mean shorter operating hours for front and backcountry Ranger Stations.
The Forest Service would also be forced to reduce law enforcement staffing as well. - KCOY 12, 2/26/13
The air tanks were Udall's biggest concern:
http://www.kunc.org/...
Udall pressed Tidwell on the dwindling air tanker fleet which has been reduced to just nine planes over the past few decades. “Given that we’re facing another potentially severe fire season, what can you do to assure me that we’re going to have the next generation air tankers in the air during this fire season?” said Udall.
The agency is planning to award contracts for up to seven new next generation air tankers in the coming weeks, but Tidwell is confident that the Forest Service has the assets it needs right now to fight fires. “We’ll continue to rely on the MAFFS units we used so much last year…and then also bring the aircraft down from Canada and Alaska to ensure that we have the aircraft we need to be able to respond to these fires,” said Tidwell.
Udall has been urging the Forest Service to award contracts for bigger, faster air tankers; however negotiations for the next generation planes have been delayed by contract disputes. - KUNC, 91.5, 4/16/13
Udall has been pushing for more funding for firefighters to ensure that there is enough protection for wildfires, especially during droughts:
http://www.theinternational.org/...
The US Forest Service anticipates another difficult year ahead as rising temperatures and increased drought are expected to expose forested lands to blazing wildfires, while sequestration stretches the agency and its resources to the limit. Taking a $132 million hit in budget cuts, the agency has already declared that 500 less firefighters will be employed for the 2013 season.
When sequestration went into effect March 1, the Department of Agriculture saw nearly $2 billion disappear from their 2013 budget, of which $42 million belonged to the US Forest Service. The department’s secretary, Tom Vilsack, wrote in a letter to the Senate Committee on Appropriations that with significant cuts in budget, the Forest Service could still do things to curtail their loss, at least initially. He writes;“For example, the agency could reduce up-front costs by reducing use of exclusive use aviation contracts, 115 engines, and 10 hotshot crews. However, this could result in larger fires, which will result in higher expenditures.”
The Forest Service is considering to close as many as 670 recreation sites, including campgrounds, picnic areas and trailheads, in order to save. In total, the effects of sequestration leave the Forest Service in a tough position for 2013, as the agency is expected to work with a quarter less than the average budget needed to manage wildfires and protect the public. - The International, 4/7/13
Speaking of droughts, Udall is also working with Senator Mike Enzi (R. WY) to have disaster aid for ranchers included in the new farm bill:
http://www.fowlertribune.com/...
Senators Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) urged the U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee to ensure that permanent livestock disaster assistance is included in the 2013 Farm Bill. Ranchers across the country need access to a strong and permanent safety net in light of the severe ongoing drought affecting much of Colorado, Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain West. A robust livestock insurance program, Udall and Enzi argued in their bipartisan letter, will give ranchers and cattle operators the assurance they need to continue to boost local economies and feed the nation.
The permanent livestock disaster assistance would be funded through the more than $13.1 billion in deficit-reducing savings the 2013 Farm Bill includes.
"Drought cripples the agricultural sector and reverberates through the national economy in the form of higher food prices, broken farms and unemployed Americans," the senators wrote in the letter. "Permanent baseline funding for livestock disaster assistance programs will provide our ranchers and farmers the confidence they need to make business decisions that will enhance stability throughout the agricultural sector and help boost our economy. We know you are dedicated to the same goal and stand ready to support your efforts on behalf of America's cattle operators as you draft the 2013 Farm Bill."
Udall and Enzi, vocal and longtime supporters of America's cattle and livestock industries, noted in their letter that by the end of 2012, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack had designated 2,245 counties in 39 states — nearly three quarters of the United States — as drought disaster areas. - Fowler Tribune, 4/16/13
If you'd like to get more info about the U.S. Forest Service you can go here:
http://www.fs.fed.us/
And feel free to contact Senator Udall's office to let him know to keep fighting sequester cuts like this and to oppose any cuts to Social Security or Medicare as part of a Grand Bargain:
202-224-5941
Here's Udall's latest statement on President Obama's budget:
http://durangoherald.com/...
“Sen. Udall has said all along we need a balanced approach to our budget,” Udall’s spokesman Mike Saccone said in a phone interview. “We clearly need to reduce the deficit, but we shouldn’t do that on the backs of hardworking Coloradans and the middle class.”
Udall also voted in favor of the Senate budget blueprint. He also voted for the January fiscal-cliff legislation but said then that the deal wasn’t perfect. - The Durango Herald, 4/11/13