Feds to work more closely with states to combat wildfires - Entrepreneur Generations

Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced last week that the U.S. Forest Service will work more closely with states to combat wildfires. The plan, possible because of increased funding from the latest federal spending bill, "focuses on working with state and tribal stakeholders to target localized preventive treatments, including prescribed burns, to areas most likely to benefit from them," Kate Queram reports for Route Fifty.

The plan says that wildfires have become a bigger problem in recent years partly because efforts to prevent and fight them have not been "uncoordinated and not at the right scale." The plan also acknowledges that climate change is partially responsible for increasing wildfires, though "Perdue himself declined Thursday to attribute the growing risk of wildfires to man-made climate change," Queram reports. "Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke did as well, noting at a cabinet meeting that the cause is unimportant because the Forest Service has to address the increased risk either way."

The Forest Service will begin enacting the plan by meeting with state and local stakeholders nationwide to see what their needs are and get feedback on the plan, Queram reports.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2N3ZPRr Feds to work more closely with states to combat wildfires - Entrepreneur Generations

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