Coming under fire
Mismanagement of federal firefighting funds alleged

A bucket chopper heads off to fight a small forest fire in the San Juan National Forest west of Durango last summer. The union for federal wildland firefighters recently sounded the alarm before the U.S. Congress. The group alleged that firefighting efforts throughout the West are being hindered by high administrative costs and less funds are making it onto the ground./Photo David Halterman

by Will Sands

Wildland firefighters are sending up smoke signals all over the West, as doubts emerge about the Forest Service’s ability to tackle devastating wildfires. In spite of the concerns and a damning, recent Congressional testimony, San Juan Public Lands officials remain confident about the local front against fire, but admit that it has come at a price.

The Federal Wildland Fire Service Association, the union representing federal firefighters, recently raised red flags about the Forest Service’s firefighting ability. In mid-June, Casey Judd, the union’s business manager, provided testimony before the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee. In essence, Judd accused the U.S. Department of Agriculture of diverting funding away from fire preparedness and fuels reduction and toward administrative expenses.

“It’s a mess,” Judd said this week from his office in Idaho. “We’ve basically spent the last 2½ years trying to demonstrate that Congress is not getting the straight scoop from the USDA.”

As an example, Judd pointed to the recently completed U.S. Forest Service Albuquerque Service Center, a nearly 100,000-square-foot building centralizing administrative services for the agency. Judd also alleged that $400 million in firefighting funds were skimmed this year to fund administrative positions at the center.

“Fire does have some administrative costs associated with it,” Judd said. “But we don’t think it’s prudent to fund those costs by reducing the number of people in the field.”

The San Juan Public Lands Center is grappling with the same issues, according to Judd. He added that the only answer is a General Accounting Office audit of the USDA’s wildfire program.

“We want to see dime for dime where the funding is going,” Judd said. “We think the program can be stronger and more cost effective, while being significantly less expensive for the American taxpayer.”

The continuing migration of many federal wildland firefighters to other nonfederal fire agencies is another major issue facing the Forest Service. Judd blamed archaic management structure and poor pay and benefits for the vacant positions pockmarking the national firefighting force.

“We have a stunning number of vacancies that the agencies have simply ignored until recently,” Judd said. “Given the number of vacancies, the ability to be properly prepared for the fire season is further compromised.”

Firefighters’ concerns are also gradually being heard, however. New Mexico Republican Sen. Pete Domenici recently called for forest management to be “rebalanced” in order to minimize future wildfires. The senator noted that nearly 155 million acres of forest have burned since 1973, with 58 million of those acres burning in just the past seven years. He blamed federal mismanagement for the discrepancy.

“We are spending more, managing less, burning more and, as a result, having to cut funds to other important resource programs such as recreation, fisheries and wildlife to battle these wildfires,” he said. “In addition, we’re increasing the carbon dioxide and other pollutants that get pumped into the atmosphere by these fires.”

Domenici then argued that Congress and the administration, both now and in the future, should work to rebalance forest management policies to make them safer.

The San Juan Public Lands Center has worked hard to maintain the strength of its on-the-ground firefighting crew, according to Mark Lauer, fire management officer. However, keeping a strong force on the ground has required some “rebalancing.” While firefighting funds have been heading toward administration elsewhere in the West, the San Juan National Forest recently cut two administrative positions to keep funding strong along the front lines.

“As far as resources for San Juan Public Lands, there hasn’t been any downsizing on the ground,” Lauer said. “But in order to get there, we have made cuts on the top end. In the past year, we did away with public information officer and fuels ecologist positions.”

Lauer added that there was no reduction in the firefighting budget for 2008. However, there was also no increase in funding and no accounting for jumps in the cost of living.

Consequently, San Juan Public Lands firefighting efforts slipped backwards this season financially.

“Right now, the Forest Service and BLM budgets are flat,” Lauer said. “But flat budgets also don’t account for an annual 5 percent cost of living increase.”

The USDA’s budget allocations are not the only thing hindering the fight against wildfire. High fuel costs at the pump are affecting much more than commuting and travel. More expensive gasoline is also translating into more expensive wildfire suppression and fewer acres being treated in the wildland urban interface.

“Right now, fuels costs have not affected firefighting efforts in Colorado,” Lauer said. “It will affect the cost of fuels mitigation and treatment in the future. We expect our costs to go up per treated acre.”

However, Lauer is also hoping that many of these points will be rendered moot in coming weeks. Thanks to a wet winter and spring, none of the 45 wildfires recorded by San Juan Public Lands this year have exceeded 9 acres in size. The immediate future is also looking positive.

“We’re expecting a normal monsoonal pattern to start establishing itself on the week of July 7-14, and that means regular moisture,” Lauer concluded. “The forecast is definitely looking favorable.” •