Neguse Passes Amendment to Increase Wildland Fire Management Funds By $2 Million, Secures Over $5 Billion For Wildfire-Related Programs

Washington, D.C. — Last night, Congressman Joe Neguse, Chair of the U.S. Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, passed an amendment through the U.S. House of Representatives to increase federal funding for wildland fire management by $2 million. The amendment was added to H.R. 4502, the FY2022 Seven-Bill Appropriations Minibus and increases funding for Wildland Fire Management Accounts at the Department of Interior and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support fire preparedness and suppression, fire science and research, emergency rehabilitation and rural fire assistance. 

The Appropriations bill also includes $5.66 billion for wildfire-related programs, a $385.82 million increase from FY 2021, which Congressman Neguse requested in a letter to Appropriators in April, and $385,000 for wildfire risk reduction efforts in Jefferson County, targeted local funding also requested by Congressman Neguse. A final vote on the bill is expected later this week.

“As communities in our district recover from the record-setting 2020 wildfire season and communities across the West experience dangerous and more intense fires, it’s absolutely crucial that we provide robust federal funding to restore our forests, support wildland fire suppression and help families recover,” said Congressman Joe Neguse. “We’ve been advocating for many months for more robust wildfire resiliency funding to be included in the FY2022 budget, and we’re grateful to secure these needed resources for the West. We continue to work to ensure historic investments for our lands and forests through the establishment of a 21st Century Climate Conservation Corps and robust, sustained investments for our forests.”

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