Boxer Asks U.S. Forest Service to Focus Fuels Reduction on Vulnerable Areas

Los Angeles, CA – U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today sent the following letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack:

September 3, 2009

The Honorable Tom Vilsack
United State Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence, SW
Washington, DC 20250

Dear Secretary Vilsack,

As you know, California is in the midst of another fire season. Firefighters are hard at work from one end of our state to the other, tirelessly and selflessly protecting lives and property. Tragically, two firefighters lost their lives this week in the fight against the Station Fire in Los Angeles County.

There are many lessons learned whenever we face the threat of wildfire. One of the most important is the need for the federal government to focus its limited resources on fuels treatment in areas nearest communities before a firestorm occurs. Throughout our state, millions of people live in close proximity of public lands. Too often, dead or dying trees and chaparral, in many cases where fire has not occurred for decades, becomes the fuel for fires that cannot be controlled without a serious threat to people and the communities they live in. The Station Fire, as an example, has largely burned on land within the Angeles National Forest, threatening properties within the Forest, as well as the heavily populated communities adjacent to it.

I recognize that the U.S. Forest Service’s resources for hazardous fuels reduction are overextended, and I am a strong supporter of increasing federal resources available for these activities. However, I believe that it is very important for the U.S. Forest Service to focus its existing fuels reduction programs in areas where the threat to communities is greatest. As the Forest Service allocates its remaining funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and as the U.S. Department of Agriculture prepares its budget request for fiscal year 2011, I hope that there will be careful attention to prioritizing these activities in the areas of greatest need, so that when fire occurs, we can be confident that we have reduced the threats to the fullest extent possible.

In advance, thank you for your attention to this matter. I also want to thank all those Forest Service employees who work so hard to protect our public lands and communities surrounding them every day.

Sincerely,

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator