DENVER – With the summer fire season in full swing, the Center for Western Priorities issued a new report today, “The Wildfire Burden,” showing for the first time how much the U.S. Forest Service spends fighting wildfires in each Western state. The report reveals that the Forest Service often spends more to fight wildfires each year in Western states than the states spend on their entire law enforcement budgets.
These findings shed new light on a growing movement by elected officials across the West working to force the federal government to “transfer” public lands to the states.
“Calling on states to seize public lands may make for great political theater, but it makes for horrible policy,” said Greg Zimmerman, Policy Director at the Center for Western Priorities. “Each summer, federal firefighters canvass the West, putting their lives at risk to combat increasingly common megafires. If public lands are transferred, states would have to assume the firefighting responsibilities, and the money to pay for this critical service will have to come from somewhere. One bad fire season would risk a state’s financial stability.”
Federal land management agencies – including the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management – spend, on average, $3.1 billion every year protecting communities from wildfire. If state land seizure efforts are successful, this multibillion dollar cost would be transferred onto already-stretched state government budget sheets.
In “The Wildfire Burden,” CWP presents new data showing how much the U.S. Forest Service spent fighting wildfires in each Western state during fiscal years 2011 and 2012. As seen in the chart below, these state-by-state costs often exceed state law enforcement budgets.
The full cost of federal wildfire spending in Western states is certainly much higher, if fire spending by the Bureau of Land Management was included, along with other federal spending on wildfire preparedness, rehabilitation and hazardous fuels reductions.
“By endorsing proposals to seize public lands, Western state politicians are committing their states to take on the liabilities and costs of public lands,” added Zimmerman. “Yet these politicians remain conveniently silent on how they would cover the costs to fight wildfire, not to mention all of the other management costs on federal lands, from protecting freshwater supplies to maintaining access for outdoor recreation.”
Since 1960, the eight largest fire years by acres burned have all occurred since 2000. In recent summers, bigger and more destructive wildfires – called “megafires” – have made headlines. Wildfire is a natural part of Western ecosystems, but a number of factors – including the widespread build-up of fuels due to historic management practices and a warming climate resulting in hotter, drier summers and longer fire seasons – have led to larger and more costly wildfires.
To read the full report, please visit: www.westernpriorities.org/WildfireBurden
Audio statements are available for broadcast use here.