JACOB FISCHLER /Source New Mexico
Members of a U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee said at a hearing Wednesday they were focused on keeping pay for wildland firefighters at the higher level set in a 2021 law and urged Forest Service Chief Randy Moore to focus on ways to maintain a healthy timber industry.
Senate Interior-Environment Subcommittee Chair Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, and ranking Republican Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said they were committed to funding Forest Service programs to prevent wildfires and to maintain healthy forests.
As the temporary additional funding to the agency appropriated in the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law and Democrats’ 2022 climate, taxes and policy law approaches an end, lawmakers and the agency must work on a way to continue strong funding for an agency that is on the front lines of a changing climate, Merkley said.
“Those are one-time investments,” Merkley said of the additional spending passed in recent years. “And those funds are running out.”
For the upcoming fiscal year, President Joe Biden requested $6.5 billion for the agency’s base programs and an additional $2.4 billion from the Wildfire Suppression Operations Reserve, a separate fund to pay for emergency responses to wildfire.
The administration has three major goals in its fiscal 2025 request, Moore said: modernizing the wildland firefighters workforce, continuing spending that is critical to the agency’s mission and granting equitable access to the benefits of national forests.
Firefighter pay
As the threat of wildfire grows due to climate change, federal funding to prevent catastrophic fires must be robust, Merkley and Murkowski said.
That includes the temporary added funding for firefighter pay. Bills in the Senate and House to make the new levels permanent have been introduced but not voted on in either chamber.
The temporary raise is set to expire in fiscal 2025, Murkowski said.
Arizona independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who sponsored the Senate bill to permanently raise firefighter pay, asked how the temporary status is affecting morale of Forest Service firefighters.
Moore answered that firefighters are happy to have higher pay, but because the higher level is temporary, it does not count toward firefighters’ retirement, which makes them hesitant to commit to a long-term career.
“It affects morale, as you can imagine,” Moore said. “It’s really critical that we have a permanent solution here.”
Moore told New Mexico Democrat Martin Heinrich that the agency has “every intention” of reaching the goal of hiring 570 new full-time firefighters.
Viable industry
Merkley, Murkowksi and Moore agreed on the need for a sustainable timber industry.
“I can tell you with certainty that if we do not have a vibrant timber industry, we’re not going to be able to manage our forests and make them healthy and resilient,” Moore said in response to a question from Merkley. “So, it’s in all of our best interest to work together as partners.”
Murkowski applauded Moore’s comment on the importance of the industry but said the Forest Service was in danger of overprotecting forests, leading to economic harms in logging communities and more difficulty in managing forests.
“If we don’t have viable timber harvest in our national forest, this whole thing just doesn’t work if we’re going to manage them properly,” she told Moore. “I’m concerned that Forest Service has gone from the mission and the focus of multiple use, including timber harvest.”
Biden administration policies to protect old-growth forests, including in the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska, have harmed the industry without sufficiently replacing lost opportunities, she added.
Murkowski singled out the Biden administration’s failure to establish a small-growth harvesting program to replace old-growth harvesting in Tongass, calling it “more than just another broken promise” that has led to an “all-but-dead” timber industry in the region.
“It is frustrating that the administration doesn’t seem to agree that the southeast part of the state can have both a healthy forest and a sustainable timber industry,” she said. “I think the administration can and should do more to provide opportunity there for the people of Southeast Alaska.”
Moore told Murkowski he was “committed to working with” her on the issue.
Mass timber
Merkley called on Moore to lead a push to expand the use of mass timber, a product made from smaller wood elements and used to build beams and columns that are usually constructed with steel or concrete.
Mass timber is seen as a benefit to the timber industry because it uses small-diameter trees and other materials that are otherwise not highly sought after.
The process is good for carbon sequestration, Merkley said. Many states have updated building codes to promote mass timber, but state codes don’t apply to federal buildings. He asked Moore to “help lead the Forest Service into being kind of a driver of the mass timber movement.”
Moore said he agreed with the advantages of the material and would continue to push the issue. He noted the tallest building in the world built with mass timber is a 26-story building in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
‘When are you coming to North Dakota?’
In addition to Murkowski’s questioning on Southeast Alaska, other senators pressed Moore to visit their states or attend to specific local issues.
New Mexico Democrat Martin Heinrich asked about how to prevent cattle with grazing allotments in Santa Fe National Forest from trespassing on the Valle Caldera National Preserve. Heinrich’s office receives numerous complaints about it, he said, adding he’d be happy to work to increase any funding needed for a stronger fence.
“Chief, thanks for being here today. Good to see you again. When are you coming to North Dakota?” Republican Sen. John Hoeven said to open his questioning of Moore.
He asked Moore to recommit to providing $4.5 million for the state to address noxious weeds. The state has received $1.7 million so far, he said.
Moore replied that the funds were intended to flow over several years, and would continue.
Montana Democrat Jon Tester asked Moore to review a $5 million fine the Forest Service levied against an electric cooperative in his state. The fine would force the cooperative, which has about $15 million of annual revenue, to close, Tester said.