More Resources Coming to Colorado, Rep. Neguse Discusses Building Wildfire Resiliency with Denver7

Washington, D.C. — Congressman Joe Neguse, Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Wildfire Caucus, joined Denver7 News to discuss building wildfire resilience in Colorado communities. He also spoke of the significant investments allotted to the state through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help fend off fires – including the nationwide investment of $228 million announced yesterday by the Deputy Secretary of the Interior, Tommy Beaudreau, during a visit to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.

Watch HERE. 

On the benefits of these resiliency programs, Congressman Neguse said: “What that program [the Landscape Restoration Partnership] does, is it brings together private landowners, the federal government, and state and local jurisdictions to do land restoration projects in areas that are particularly high risk for wildfires. That program has been very successful, for example, in northern and western Larimer County as well as other parts of our state.” 

So far, to prevent wildfires in Colorado, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has allocated: 

• $720 million for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership, including for the Southern Front Range Watershed Project;
• $5.1 million for fuels management wildfire resiliency projects;
• And $20 million for the Colorado State University Forest Restoration Research.

Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Department of Interior is investing $1.5 billion over five years to improve firefighter pay and increase the resilience of communities and lands facing the threat of wildfires. This funding supports a national Five-year Monitoring, Maintenance, and Treatment Plan, which lays out a roadmap to address wildfire risk and prepare communities and ecosystems for the threat of wildfire. The $228 million announced today follows $180 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law support to wildland fire management programs in fiscal year 2022, for a total of $408 million in funding. With support from these new investments and in coordination with partners, the Department of Interior has laid the groundwork to expand wildland firefighter training, develop a geospatial wildfire risk mitigation planning tool, and increase local fire fighting capacity.  

Background

Representative Neguse, Chair of the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands and Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Wildfire Caucus has emerged as a leader among his colleagues in the fight for increased federal support for wildfire mitigation and resiliency. Most recently, the Colorado Congressman secured passage of the Wildfire Recovery Act through the House of Representatives for the second time, on September 13, 2022. The bill first passed as part of the monumental Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act (H.R. 5118), also sponsored by Representative Neguse. H.R. 5118 is a monumental legislative package that would significantly increase investments to tackle wildfires, boost wildland firefighter pay, and fund resiliency and mitigation projects for communities impacted by recent climate-induced disasters. 

Congressman Neguse also played a key role in the swift passage and enactment of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a historic piece of legislation that invests in the economy, rebuilds crumbling roads and bridges, and ensures American communities can compete in the 21st Century. Thanks to the advocacy and leadership of Congressman Neguse, the bill also includes several other wildfire response initiatives including funds for wildfire prevention, a pay raise for federal wildland firefighters, and investments in collaborative forest programs, such as the Joint Chiefs Landscape Restoration Partnership.

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