Oregon on Fire: Funding for Hazardous Fuels Reduction at Risk

OREGON ON FIRE IS A GUTTED NATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BUDGET FOR HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION PUTTING SOUTHERN OREGON AT RISK? Without action the Medford District Bureau of Land Management will lose critical funds needed for hazardous fuels reduction in Southern Oregon forests. HAZARDOUS FUEL TREATMENTS PRESCRIBED MECHANICAL AND INVASIVE SPECIES BURNING HAND THINNING MITIGATION MANAGED FUELS = HEALTHY FORESTS TYPES OF FIRES (BY INTENSITY): → Mitigates Fire Impact → Reduces Cata strophic Fires » Protects Old Growth Forest LEVEL 3: CROWN→ → Protects Wildlife Habitat Spotted Owl, Marbled Murrelet, Salmon, Sage Grouse → Emulates natural 5 - 15 year historical fire cycles. Southern Oregon has more than 100 years of accumulating fuels. LEVEL 2: GROUND > LEVEL 1: SURFACE > Protects water quality from subsequent erosion and sediment delivery to streams. → Studies show treatments curb and prevent crown fires. In 2013, five Medford BLM fires interse cted with fuel treatments. Worthington, Stratton Creek, Rabbit, Dads Creek, Brimstone 45% of areas in those fires previously managed for hazardous fuel reduction resulted in surface fire as the dominant fire type. (Medford BLM) In other cases, fires that hit these areas often moved from crown fires to surface fires. MANAGED FUELS = SAFE COMMUNITIES → Improves firefighter readiness with skills and equipment training → Decreases risk to lives and property → Creates a defensible space for firefighters MANAGED FUELS = ECONOMIC IMPACT Supports hundreds of living wage jobs in public and private sectors → Responsible for $104 million economic local impact THE RISKS OF AN UNDERFUNDED FUELS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM RISK OF LOSS TO SIGNIFICANT NEGATIVE FIREFIGHTER INJURY LOSS OF NATURAL LOSS OF STEWARDSHIP LOST INVESTMENT IN PROPERTY EFFECTS ON AIR QUALITY OR DEATH HABITAT CONTRACTS: LOCAL PREVIOUS FUELS WORK MILLS, BIOMASS FACILITIES, COMMUNITY FIREWOOD Lost infrastructure not likely rebuildable for up to decades even with Jackson and Josephine Counties are number 1 and number 2 in the western 25% of Jackson 17,000 Cords later restored funding of firewood provided to local community members for winter heating. Wildland-Urban and Josephine County Homes are in the → US counties ranking with developed land in the wildland-urban interface which, in Interface: Where wild Wildland-Urban Interface lands and semi-urban areas intersect. most cases, interfaces with BLM lands. Responsible fuels Jackson County CWPP management requires regular maintenance. Medford BLM has treated more than Journal of Fores try 95,000 acres since 2000. WHAT'S THE SOLUTION? SUPPORT AN "ALL LANDS" APPROACH RESTORE MEDFORD DISTRICT HAZARDOUS FUELS PROGRAM FUNDING Public-private assessment and collaboration supports ecosystem The 2015 fiscal year budget is due to be further reduced restoration, fire resilience and resistance. well below the precedented levels of $8 - $10 million. FUNDING SINCE 2002 FOR HAZARDOUS FUEL REDUCTION* 12 illitiili. 10 6 Proposed significant 4 reduction *estimated budget figures 500,000 ACRES ARE BURNING ACROSS OREGON. NEARLY 1 MILLION ACRES TO DATE IN 2014. AUGUST 2014 SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS INFOGRAPHIC CREATED BY: SOUTHERN OREGON PRESCRIBED FIRE NETWORK N NOI17IW