ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Lawmakers from several western states want the U.S. Forest Service to do more to address a wildfire crisis that they say will surely destroy more landscapes, communities and livelihoods as long-term drought persists around the West.
They grilled Forest Service Chief Randy Moore during a congressional hearing this week, asking about the agency’s spending priorities and the backlog of national forest lands that need to be treated to reduce wildfire risks.
U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a Wisconsin Republican and chair of the House Natural Resources Committee’s panel on federal lands, said the agency needs to usher in a new phase of accountability and transparency if it wants “reverse the tide against this historic crisis.”
Tiffany pointed to a yearslong restoration project that has struggled to treat wide swaths of land spanning four national forests in northern Arizona, saying the agency has reported more acres being treated than what regional managers have submitted.
Moore did not directly address the discrepancy but said the top priority is reducing hazard fuels on more than 4 million acres in high-risk areas nationwide over the next year. He said the Biden administration is requesting more than $320 million for the work on top of money already appropriated by Congress through the infrastructure and inflation spending packages.