Forest Health on the minds of congressman, and hopeful Fed is on same page

CHELAN - After the mega-fires in 2014 and 2015, everyone in the NCW region is aware of the always looming threat of a wildfire. However, for years the federal and state governments have had a tendency to react to the disasters when they happen instead of being more proactive in finding a solution.

That was not the case this year as over a dozen bills were sponsored in this years Washington State Legislative Session including the unanimously approved Senate Bill 5546  - introduced by 12th Legislative District Senator Brad Hawkins - which was signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee on April 20.

The law directs the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to set up a framework for assessing the health of fire-prone lands and treating them. It has a specific goal of assessing and treating 1 million acres over the next 16 years, mostly through prescribed fire and mechanical thinning.

At a recent Forest Health Collaborative meeting at the Chelan Fire Station Hawkins shed some more light on the new law.

“The bill will be funded through the final operating budget, and will need to be funded on an ongoing basis every two-year budget cycle,” Hawkins told me during a lunch break at the meeting on Wednesday, June 6.

In addition to the treatment of 1 million acres over 16 years, Hawkins said the DNR will have to come to the state legislature every two years to discuss what they have done, what needs to be done moving forward and make another request for funding.

Although the law impacts only state lands Hawkins talked about the need to collaborate with the federal government through Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell.

“Fire knows no boundaries, (but) there are opportunities to partner with federal government for prescribed burning in the federal lands,” Hawkins stated. “Some counties have significant percentage of federal lands in their boundaries so even if the state did all it could, it still might not be enough for those catastrophic fires that come through. We have to do something to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire instead of just putting out the fires and managing them when they start. There is too much economic damage, and too high of a price when they start, so we need to do more work on the front end.”

Although Cantwell, Murray, Hawkins and a litany of congressman have placed wild fires at the top of their agenda, there are still some conservationist that are hesitant toward any burning — even ones that are controlled — because of the carbon that is released and the amount of factors that could cause the situation to go awry.

Hawkins responded by saying although there is a perceived reluctance toward burning and thinning, “the worst thing to do is to not treat the forest’s and allow them to get to the point where they are and then deal with wildfires that occur. It is so costly, between the fire fighting and the response, the fire damage, loss of power and the loss of life, which is the most precious, we have to figure out a better way, and I think this it is.”

“We have to be patient though,” Hawkins concluded. “Our society is accustomed to quick results and instant gratification, but things like this — although prudent — might take awhile to see the benefits. It took a long time to get to where we are, and it will take awhile to get to where we want to be.”

The law will go into effect 90 days after the legislature concludes its regular session and is expected to be approved in the 2017-19 operating budget.

On a side note, the Cascadia Conservation District will be holding a presentation on the “Era of Megafires” at the Entiat Fire Station on Wednesday, June 21 at 6:30 p.m. More information on the meeting can be found at north40productions.com/wildfire.

Zach Johnson can be reached at lcmeditor@gmail.com or (509) 682-2213