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Oversight Hearing Committee on Natural Resources U.S EXPLORING SOLUTIONS TO REDUCE RISKS OF CATASTROPHIC WILD- FIRE AND IMPROVE RESILIENCY OF NATIONAL FORESTS OVERSIGHT HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION Wednesday, September 27, 2017 Serial No. 115–23 Printed for the use of the Committee on Natural Resources ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov or Committee address: http://naturalresources.house.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 27–027 PDF WASHINGTON : 2018 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Mar 15 2010 11:32 Jan 09, 2018 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 J:\115TH CONGRESS\OVERSIGHT & INVESTIGATIONS\09-27-17\27027.TXT DARLEN COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES ROB BISHOP, UT, Chairman RAU´ L M. GRIJALVA, AZ, Ranking Democratic Member Don Young, AK Grace F. Napolitano, CA Chairman Emeritus Madeleine Z. Bordallo, GU Louie Gohmert, TX Jim Costa, CA Vice Chairman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, CNMI Doug Lamborn, CO Niki Tsongas, MA Robert J. Wittman, VA Jared Huffman, CA Tom McClintock, CA Vice Ranking Member Stevan Pearce, NM Alan S. Lowenthal, CA Glenn Thompson, PA Donald S. Beyer, Jr., VA Paul A. Gosar, AZ Norma J. Torres, CA Rau´ l R. Labrador, ID Ruben Gallego, AZ Scott R. Tipton, CO Colleen Hanabusa, HI Doug LaMalfa, CA Nanette Diaz Barraga´n, CA Jeff Denham, CA Darren Soto, FL Paul Cook, CA A. Donald McEachin, VA Bruce Westerman, AR Anthony G. Brown, MD Garret Graves, LA Wm. Lacy Clay, MO Jody B. Hice, GA Jimmy Gomez, CA Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, AS Darin LaHood, IL Daniel Webster, FL Jack Bergman, MI Liz Cheney, WY Mike Johnson, LA Jenniffer Gonza´lez-Colo´n, PR Greg Gianforte, MT Cody Stewart, Chief of Staff Lisa Pittman, Chief Counsel David Watkins, Democratic Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS BRUCE WESTERMAN, AR, Chairman A. DONALD MCEACHIN, VA, Ranking Democratic Member Louie Gohmert, TX Ruben Gallego, AZ Rau´ l R. Labrador, ID Jared Huffman, CA Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, AS Darren Soto, FL Mike Johnson, LA Wm. Lacy Clay, MO Vice Chairman Rau´ l M. Grijalva, AZ, ex officio Jenniffer Gonza´lez-Colo´n, PR Rob Bishop, UT, ex officio (II) VerDate Mar 15 2010 11:32 Jan 09, 2018 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 J:\115TH CONGRESS\OVERSIGHT & INVESTIGATIONS\09-27-17\27027.TXT DARLEN CONTENTS Page Hearing held on Wednesday, September 27, 2017 ................................................ 1 Statement of Members: McEachin, Hon. A. Donald, a Representative in Congress from the Commonwealth of Virginia ........................................................................... 4 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 5 Westerman, Hon. Bruce, a Representative in Congress from the State of Arkansas .................................................................................................... 1 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 3 Statement of Witnesses: Chilcott, Hon. Greg, Commissioner, Ravalli County, Montana .................... 16 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 18 DellaSala, Dominick A., Chief Scientist, Geos Institute, Ashland, Oregon . 24 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 25 Questions submitted for the record ......................................................... 35 Fite, Lawson, General Counsel, American Forest Resource Council, Portland, Oregon ........................................................................................... 51 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 52 Rigdon, Philip, President, Intertribal Timber Council, Yakama Nation, Toppenish, Washington ................................................................................ 7 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 8 Additional Materials Submitted for the Record: Submissions for the Record by Representative Westerman Humphries, Rebecca A., Chief Executive Officer, National Wild Turkey Federation, Letter to Chairman Bishop and Ranking Member Grijalva, dated June 26, 2017 ................................................ 71 Humphries, Rebecca A., Chief Executive Officer, National Wild Turkey Federation, Letter to Chairman Westerman, dated September 27, 2017 ............................................................................... 72 List of documents submitted for the record retained in the Committee’s official files .................................................................................................... 73 (III) VerDate Mar 15 2010 11:32 Jan 09, 2018 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 J:\115TH CONGRESS\OVERSIGHT & INVESTIGATIONS\09-27-17\27027.TXT DARLEN VerDate Mar 15 2010 11:32 Jan 09, 2018 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 J:\115TH CONGRESS\OVERSIGHT & INVESTIGATIONS\09-27-17\27027.TXT DARLEN OVERSIGHT HEARING ON EXPLORING SOLUTIONS TO REDUCE RISKS OF CATA- STROPHIC WILDFIRE AND IMPROVE RESIL- IENCY OF NATIONAL FORESTS Wednesday, September 27, 2017 U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Committee on Natural Resources Washington, DC The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 3:01 p.m., in room 1334, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Bruce Westerman [Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding. Present: Representatives Westerman, Labrador, Radewagen, Johnson, McEachin, and Clay. Also Present: Representatives McClintock, Gosar, Gianforte, and Gomez. Mr. WESTERMAN. The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investiga- tions will come to order. The Subcommittee is meeting today to hear testimony on exploring solutions to reduce risks of cata- strophic wildfire and improve resiliency of national forests. I ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from California, Mr. McClintock, the gentleman from Arizona, Mr. Gosar, the gentleman from Montana, Mr. Gianforte, and the gentleman from California, Mr. Gomez, be allowed to sit with the Subcommittee and partici- pate in the hearing. Without objection, so ordered. Under Committee Rule 4(f), any oral opening statements at hear- ings are limited to the Chairman, the Ranking Minority Member, and the Vice Chair. This will allow us to hear from our witnesses sooner and help Members keep to their schedules. Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that all other Members’ opening statements be made part of the hearing record if they are submitted to the Subcommittee Clerk by 5:00 p.m. today. Without objection, so ordered. STATEMENT OF THE HON. BRUCE WESTERMAN, A REP- RESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ARKANSAS Mr. WESTERMAN. Today, we will discuss one of the most serious threats currently facing our country—catastrophic wildfire. At a time when national attention is focused on the disastrous effects of multiple hurricanes, more than 81⁄2 million acres of America has been ravaged by almost 49,000 fires this year. Like the recent hurricanes, these fires have also destroyed homes, taken lives, threatened treasured sites, and cost our country billions of dollars. In fact, this will be the most expensive (1) VerDate Mar 15 2010 11:32 Jan 09, 2018 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 J:\115TH CONGRESS\OVERSIGHT & INVESTIGATIONS\09-27-17\27027.TXT DARLEN 2 year on record. Wildfire suppression costs already exceed $2 billion for the U.S. Forest Service. The Forest Service has reported that their firefighting activities already consumed $300 million that they had to transfer from other accounts for fire suppression. It is estimated that the Agency will need to borrow up to a staggering $600 million before the end of the fiscal year. Simply speaking, the Agency’s mission of man- aging our national forests is threatened when firefighting consumes so much of its time and resources. This problem will only intensify unless we act now. Fifty-eight million acres of our National Forest System are at a high risk of ecologically destructive wildland fire. According to the U.S. Depart- ment of Agriculture’s Inspector General, hazardous fuels are esti- mated to be accumulating at three times the rate at which they can be treated. It is clear that unsafe levels of hazardous fuels have accumulated in our Federal forests. Many are aware of the dire need of active management before more catastrophic fires strike and forest health continues to deteriorate. One Forest Service ecologist recently warned that forest fuels are at powder keg levels. Without a change of course, forest fires will continue to destroy our valuable natural resources, devastate our communities, and overwhelm our Federal agencies. Today’s hearing will explore solutions to reduce the wildfire threat. We will discuss ways in which active management can boost forest health, and how the Forest Service can effectively part- ner with other stakeholders who share an interest in more resilient forest. Fuels reduction activities, such as thinning, offer multiple bene- fits to both our national forests and surrounding communities. These treatments have proven effective at reducing excess trees and vegetation and, therefore,
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