The federal government will allocate $490 million to hazardous fuels reduction in several western states. The areas have been identified as being at particularly high risk to wildfire.
The mitigation work on 11 landscapes spans dozens of areas known as "firesheds" in Arizona, California, Utah and elsewhere where catastrophic wildfire poses the greatest risk to residents and critical infrastructure.
It’s part of a broader strategy by the U.S. Forest Service to protect hundreds of communities in the West.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says more investment in large-scale forest treatments is desperately needed.
"It’s not a matter of whether forests will burn, it’s just a matter of when," he says. "We face the circumstance and situation that requires immediate action in our forests to provide greater protection. We believe the crisis is now."
Vilsack says the work will focus on preserving resilient, old-growth forests and use new technologies to plan treatments more effectively.
“Doing this work in the right place, at the right time, and at the right scale, combined with the use of emergency authorities, will accelerate our planning, consultation, contracting, hiring and project work to reduce wildfire risk and improve forest health and resilience,” said Forest Service Chief Randy Moore. “Collaboration with Tribes, communities and partners will remain a priority, and we will continue to use the best available science when carrying out this important work.”
Among the projects to receive funding is a collaboration with the San Carlos Apache Tribe to treat 3 million acres on the reservation.
Officials say it’ll protect drinking water and residential areas and reduce the wildfire threat to the Mount Graham International Observatory and local communication systems.
The initiative is funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and last year’s Inflation Reduction Act. In total, $930 million have so far been allocated across 45 million acres.
Last year, Arizona’s Four Forest Restoration Initiative was among the projects included in the first round of funding.
