Lawmakers Bringing Fire Suppression Debate to Hamilton
A legislative committee will meet in Hamilton April 28-29 to discuss issues surrounding the state's wildfire suppression efforts. The public is invited to attend and will have an opportunity to comment.
The Fire Suppression Interim Committee will meet beginning at 10 a.m. April 28 in the Tammany Conference Room of the Bitterroot River Inn, 139 Bitterroot Plaza Drive. Public comment is scheduled for about 3:45 p.m. The meeting is set to end at 5:30 p.m. but will run longer if more time for public comment is needed.
The committee is especially interested in hearing public reaction to several draft documents it has produced in recent months. The documents are available on the committee's Web site at www.leg.mt.gov/fire. Click on "Materials and Committee Recommendations to Review Prior to Participating in Public Hearings."
"The committee has been meeting in Helena for almost a year now to talk about reducing the costs of fire suppression and the impacts on our local communities," said Sen. Rick Laible, R-Darby, who will chair the Hamilton meeting. "This hearing will be the first 'road show' to a region significantly impacted by fires. Local citizens will have a chance to hear testimony from the various agencies involved in fire suppression and ask questions of experts in the field of fire suppression and forest health."
The agenda for April 28 includes a question and answer session with representatives of the USDA Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC). Also on the agenda are presentations on:
The Bitterroot National Forest perspective on fire suppression, by Dave Bull, forest supervisor;
Biomass, by Kristiina Vogt, professor of ecosystem management at the University of Washington College of Forest Resources;
Fire mitigation in the wildland-urban interface, by Steve Woodruff, deputy director of Western Progress, Northern Region;
Forest health in the Bitterroot, by Sonny LaSalle, Big Sky Coalition; and
Fire history and the ecology of Montana forests, by Steve Arno, science writer and former research forester with the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station in Missoula.
On April 29, the committee will reconvene at the hotel at 9 a.m. Members will depart by bus at 10:30 a.m. to tour Hayes Creek fuel reduction projects, French Basin, and the Middle East Fork of the Bitterroot River.
A complete agenda is available at www.leg.mt.gov/fire.
"The committee's goals are to draft legislation that provides the DNRC with additional tools for fire suppression, create a seamless system of interface between the various fire-fighting agencies, make better use of local contractors, and find ways to influence the federal system of fire suppression, including fuels reduction," Sen. Laible said.
The committee plans to hold similar public hearings in other communities, including Lewistown (May 16), Miles City (May 30), and Seeley Lake, Thompson Falls, and Libby (June 19-20).
Members of the Fire Suppression Interim Committee are Sens. John Cobb, R-Augusta; Kim Hansen, D-Harlem; Rick Laible, R-Darby; Dave Lewis, R-Helena; Gerald Pease, D-Lodge Grass; and Carol Williams, D-Missoula; and Reps. Steve Bolstad, D-Great Falls; Jim Keane, D-Butte; Krayton Kerns, R-Laurel; Rick Ripley, R-Wolf Creek; Chas Vincent, R-Libby; and Bill Wilson, D-Great Falls.
For more information, contact Leanne Heisel, legislative research analyst and committee staffer, at 444-3593 or lheisel@mt.gov.
