Amy Klobuchar: ‘I Remain Concerned About The Forest Service’s Capacity’ To Reduce Wildfire Risk

Forbes Breaking News

During Tuesday’s Senate Agriculture Committee hearing, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) questioned Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment Nominee Michael Boren about wildfire risk mitigation.

Transcript

00:00I'll turn to our Ranking Member, Senator Klobuchar, for her opening statement.

00:05Thank you very much, and thank you, Senator Risch.

00:09Thank you for coming here and to the nominee as well.

00:14So I spoke with Mr. Bourne.

00:16I appreciated that very much.

00:19And I'd like to welcome his family, including his wife, Joan, and his father, Robert Bourne,

00:25and two of his children and daughter-in-law, who I understand are here.

00:29Mr. Bourne, if confirmed, you will oversee the U.S. Forest Service,

00:33which is, as we all know, responsible for managing 193 million acres of forest and grassland.

00:39You'll be considered for this position at a critical time for the Forest Service.

00:45We mentioned, as the chairman mentioned, the wildfires in California,

00:51which, of course, created just unimaginable harm.

00:55I will note, sometimes there's smaller fires as well that can quickly get out of control,

01:00as you, as I talked about, Mr. Bourne.

01:03I've appreciated the Forest Service work, as I told Secretary Rollins,

01:08working with the state of Minnesota in just the last few weeks to contain fires in northern Minnesota

01:14that quickly spread to acres and acres.

01:17We currently have fires in Canada that are not really close to our state in terms of burning forests

01:24but are creating huge smoke issues in a lot of parts of the United States with more to come.

01:31The Forest Service has an important multiple-use mandate to manage lands for timber, recreation, watershed health, and more.

01:38And USDA's and Interior's focus on wildlife suppression and prevention are very important right now.

01:45A critical part of reducing wildfire risks is the Forest Service and its partners carrying out more forest management.

01:53And I recognize the USDA recently released an active forest management strategy,

01:58and I welcome its focus on increasing the use of good neighbor authority,

02:01a bill that I had worked on for years and other partnership agreements.

02:06Mr. Bourne, if confirmed, you'll be responsible for implementing these recent directives

02:11and for responding to wildfires.

02:14I do remain concerned about the Forest Service's capacity to carry out the important work to reduce wildlife risk and severity.

02:22The Forest Service has reportedly lost more than 4,000 employees since January,

02:27and my office has received reports of Forest Service contracts having been canceled and delayed,

02:33including some projects focused on reduction of wildfire risk.

02:38Workforce reductions and disruptions in funding and contracts raise questions about the Forest Service's ability

02:45to balance its many responsibilities.

02:47These are concerns I've raised in several communications with the USDA and need clarity from the agency.

02:54The administration's proposed budget that just came out also contributes to the uncertainty.

02:59The budget makes deep cuts in National Forest Service system funding,

03:05popular programs that strengthen state and private sector capacity for managing forests and forestry research.

03:11This is confusing following recent testimony to this committee from the Forest Service on the need to rely on state and private partners.

03:21The budget also recommends moving wildland fire operations to the Department of Interior from the USDA's Forest Service.

03:29While I'm open to reviewing the details of this proposal,

03:32I'm concerned it would hurt the Forest Service's ability to execute wildfire mitigation and other land management work.

03:40Mr. Bourne, these proposals raise questions about the Forest Service's approach to overseeing the wildfire crisis

03:46that we're seeing in so many states, as my colleague Senator Bennett knows,

03:51from his home state of Colorado, and managing Forest Service lands.

03:56I look forward to hearing more about how, if confirmed, you will work to ensure the Forest Service addresses these challenges

04:02and how you will ensure our national forests remain a place for all Americans to enjoy.

04:07Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

04:08Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

04:09Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

04:10Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

04:11Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

04:12Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

04:13Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

04:14Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

04:15Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

04:16Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

04:17Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

04:18Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

04:19Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

04:20Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

04:21Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

04:22Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

04:23Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

04:24Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

04:25Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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