usfs - The Environment Report

Forest Service Breaks Bank Fighting Fires

A new report from the US Department of Agriculture’s Inspector General shows the US Forest Service is spending too much money fighting fires. It suggests the feds get some help paying the bills from state governments. Mark Brodie reports:

Transcript

The Inspector General report says the Forest Service went over budget four times in the last six years, spending more than a billion dollars in each of those years.

The service blames the cost increase in part on housing developments. They say more homes are being built farther into the forest.

Tom Harbour is the Forest Service’s Fire Chief.

“All of us treat protection of life as our certain first priority, and then treat the protection of communities and values on public lands as our second, and you bet it does make things more difficult.”

But some state foresters say the real difficulty comes from issues like changes in the weather and too much fire fuel on federal land. They say downed trees and excess brush make it difficult for the forest service to contain fires.

Both sides say they’ll bargain hard when it comes time to pay the bill for fighting fires.

For The Environment Report, I’m Mark Brodie.

Wilderness Area to Be Torched

Last summer a violent storm struck down nearly half a million acres of
trees in and around the boundary waters canoe area. The boundary waters
is a pristine wilderness area in northeastern Minnesota. No motorized
vehicles are allowed and the U-S Forest Service does minimal management,
leaving it in its natural state. But now officials are worried about
the fire danger, and they’re planning some measures that normally aren’t
allowed. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Stephanie Hemphill has
more:

High Grading Fails the Test

The recent announcement by the National Forest Service canceling a
cutting plan in New Hampshire’s White Mountains has Great Lakes Radio
Consortium commentator Don Ogden thinking about forestry issues we often
don’t hear about:

Massive Storm Strands Campers

In northern Minnesota, huge stretches of the popular Boundary Waters Canoe
Area Wilderness were severely damaged in a massive July fourth storm. One
hundred mile an hour winds flattened trees in a swath thirty miles long and
twelve miles wide. The emergency prompted the forest service to suspend the
rules against motors in the wilderness. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Stephanie Hemphill reports it may take months to make the portages useable
again:

Tricking the Gypsy Moth

The U-S Forest Service and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources will
be using pheromone treatments to prevent gypsy moths from mating in wooded
areas along the Lake Michigan shoreline. The effort is aimed at protecting
the large concentration of endangered Karner Blue butterflies along the
shoreline. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Len Clark reports:

Forest Service to Stabilize Payments

The U.S. Forest Service gives 25% of its forest revenues back to the states.
These revenues primarily come from timber harvest sales. But now the Forest
Service wants to change the way it makes these payments. And that could
mean a loss of revenue for some Great Lakes states. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Todd Witter has more:

Forest Service &Quot;Witch Hunt"

Some environmental groups say congress is on a "witch-hunt" after U.S.Forest Service Employees. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium LesterGraham reports:

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