WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) questioned interim Chief of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Vicki Christiansen and Director of the Office of Wildland Fire at the Department of the Interior Jeff Rupert about hazardous fuels reduction and vacancies on the Black Hills National Forest Advisory Board.

Christiansen and Rupert testified at today’s Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on the 2018 Wildland Fire Outlook and the Wildland Fire Management Programs at the Department of the Interior and USFS.

On Hazardous Fuels Reduction:

“Ms. Christiansen, Mr. Rupert, thanks so much for being with us today. I have a couple of questions.

“The National Interagency Fire Center’s outlook for the summer 2018 largely contained good news for Wyoming. We all know how quickly on-the-ground conditions can change.

“Across Wyoming, we’ve had above-average snowpack and spring runoff which has contributed to what’s been labeled ‘below normal’ fire potential. But higher precipitation, as you know, can often mean rapid grass growth that will be dry and by August we have trouble.

“So talking to our Wyoming state forester, Bill Crapser, he has his ‘rule of sixes’ and he says it just seems that about every six years, and 2018 is the sixth year.

“Wyoming is going to see fire this year and questions remain about forest health, effective use of resources, and improving coordination among agency partners and how we can best do that.

“A lot of it comes down to the millions of acres of the ecosystem across the West affected by pine beetles and bark beetles.

“We’re no stranger to die-offs, and you aren’t either. These standing dead trees continue to pose significant threats.

“You’ve both identified the need to reduce hazardous fuels, and both agencies have tools to take preventative action – including those provided in the recent omnibus funding bill.

“In places like Wyoming where a lower intensity fire season is expected, but it may happen otherwise, do your agencies have the flexibility that you need to take advantage of certain years and adapt fuels treatments as the year goes on ‘in real time’ to increase preventative measures to kind of ‘get ahead of the curve’ in terms of all of this standing fuel?

Click here for video of Sen. Barrasso questioning Forest Service on hazardous fuels reduction.

On the Black Hills National Forest Advisory Board:

“Ms. Christiansen, the Black Hills National Forest formed a number of years ago an advisory board to provide advice and information to the forest supervisor from various stakeholders.

“The board is currently experiencing a number of vacancies, and the nominations have to be approved by the secretary, so it takes some time.

“Without approval of pending nominations, the March, April, and May meetings have all had to be cancelled because there aren’t enough members.

“The board is planning to meet again in June, but again, with this many vacancies, that meeting is going to have to be cancelled.

“Any update on the situation and the nominations?”

Click here for video of Sen. Barrasso questioning Forest Service on the Black Hills National Forest Advisory Board.

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