Rep. Neguse Joins Senator Bennet, Colorado Lawmakers In Calling for Forest Service to Swiftly Implement Forestry Funding from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law & Inflation Reduction Act

Washington, D.C. — Today, Congressman Joe Neguse, Chairman of the U.S. House Subcommittee on National Forests, joined U.S. Senator Michael Bennet and several members of the Colorado congressional delegation in a letter calling for the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to share information about its plan to implement the $10 billion in funding  in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to address a backlog of forest management needs (including $5 billion in wildfire mitigation funding in the IRA modeled after Rep. Neguse’s Civilian Conservation Corps. legislation). 

“As climate change intensifies the frequency and severity of wildfires across the West, it is imperative that the Forest Service move expeditiously to allocate the new funding,” wrote the lawmakers in the letter. “The $10 billion in combined funding from the Infrastructure Law and the IRA represents a historic opportunity to address wildland fire and forest management across jurisdictions, at a scale commensurate with the West’s wildfire crisis, through shared priority setting with States, Tribes and other partners.”

“The USFS has already taken valuable steps to develop a framework for the implementation of these funds,” continued the lawmakers. “However, critical details about the timing and specific use of these funds remain undetermined.”

“We appreciate your leadership in quickly laying the groundwork to allocate the historic new funding for forest health and management in the Infrastructure Law and IRA. We welcome a meeting with USFS to discuss the issues raised in this letter and request your staff provide quarterly briefings on the implementation of new forest-related provisions in Colorado,” they concluded. 

Read the full letter here. 

As Chair of the House National Forests Subcommittee, Neguse and Senator Bennet announced last month that over $5.1 million from the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has been allocated already to help the state of Colorado invest in critical wildfire resiliency projects. Funding will go toward fuels management projects currently taking place on nearly 5,395 acres of federal lands across the state. Funds are being directed from the larger, $103 million investment announced by the Department of the Interior earlier this year. This additional funding will help complete fuels treatments on nearly 2 million acres nationwide this fiscal year, a substantial increase in comparison to prior years. 

The acreage includes 22 projects across 16 counties including; Dolores, Eagle, Grand, Gunnison, Kiowa, La Plata, Larimer, Mesa, Moffat, Montezuma, Montrose, Otero, Ouray, Rio Blanco, Routt, and San Miguel.

“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues to deliver for the people of Colorado and for our communities impacted by the recent surge of wildfires across the West. This significant increase in funding will protect the families, businesses, and communities most threatened by these disasters, which is why it is critically important that the Forest Service implements these programs swiftly,” said Congressman Joe Neguse. 

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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