Statement of MARK REY Under Secretary Natural Resources and Environment United States Department of Agriculture
Committee on Appropriations Interior and Related Agencies Subcommittee United States Senate
Concerning FOREST SERVICE FISCAL YEAR 2005 BUDGET
March 11, 2004
Mr. Chairman, Senator Dorgan, and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the President’s Fiscal Year FY 2005 Budget for the Forest Service. I am pleased to join Dale Bosworth, Chief of the Forest Service, at the hearing today on the budget for the centennial year of the Forest Service. Before discussing the specifics of the budget, I would like to take the opportunity express my gratitude and that of the President for the bipartisan support of this Subcommittee that led to passing the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA). All of the members of this Subcommittee understand the devastation and tragedy caused by catastrophic wildfire and more than half of the members have experienced it firsthand in their States. The commitment to protecting communities and natural resources you demonstrated in passing the HFRA will be reflected in the priorities of the Forest Service for years to come. Again, thank you.
Overview
Chief Bosworth will be highlighting a number of items of importance to the Forest Service today. In my testimony, I want to address two of these issues as well. I will talk more about the HFRA, and the agency’s achievement of its second “clean” audit opinion in 2 years. In managing natural resources, we often use the term “sustainability” in context of maintaining long-term forest and rangeland health and ensuring the long-term delivery of services to the American people. The bipartisan support demonstrated by Congress in passing the HFRA will ensure significant and measurable returns on the investment of the American public. “Sustainability” can also be applied to obtaining a clean opinion in terms of maintaining the public’s trust that their funds are being managed effectively. Implementing HRFA and effective financial management will require diligent and concerted efforts on the part of employees throughout the Forest Service to take the agency to sustainable levels of improvement. I am confident that the Forest Service under Chief Bosworth’s leadership will meet these challenges and continue to provide the high quality of natural resources management that the American public expects.
Healthy Forests Restoration Act
Let me specifically address the Healthy Forests Restoration Act. Prior to fiscal year (FY) 2000, attention was beginning to focus on the vulnerability of natural resources to catastrophic wildland fires due to the buildup of hazardous fuels. In the late 1990’s, the Forest Service developed risk maps that highlighted fuels buildups and serious threats to forest health throughout the Nation. I recall Senator Craig noting in reviewing what was referred to as “forest risk maps,” that northern Idaho was a “big red blob” signifying the dangerous buildup of hazardous fuels in that area. Because of the serious nature of the problem throughout the Nation, and especially in the West, Congress responded by authorizing focused experiments to restore health and productivity of our forests and rangelands by authorizing the Quincy Library Group activities in northern California, as well as stewardship end results contracting demonstration authority.
The devastating fire season of 2000 brought the seriousness of the forest health problem to the homes of all Americans, through seemingly constant reports in newspapers, on television, and in other media. The catastrophic fire seasons of 2002 and 2003 further underscored the problem. Although the Forest Service and bureaus in the Department of the Interior have worked together diligently since 2000, the complexity and extent of the problem do not afford us quick solutions. From 2001 to 2003, the Forest Service and Department of the Interior agencies have treated a total of 7 million acres to reduce the levels of hazardous fuels in our Nation’s forests and grasslands. In FY 2004, the Forest Service will treat an additional 1.6 million acres and plans to treat 1.8 million acres in FY 2005 with hazardous fuels funds. Additionally, in FY 2004, the agency will accomplish more than 600,000 acres of hazardous fuels reduction through other land management activities including wildlife habitat improvement, vegetation management, and the sale of forest products. This integration of land management treatments is an important aspect of the President’s healthy forest emphasis
Congress has responded quickly with its support for treatment of hazardous fuels, invasive species infestations, and other threats to our Nation’s forests. Funding for hazardous fuels reduction and fire suppression activities since FY 2000 has increased dramatically. In response to the President’s Healthy Forests Initiative (HFI), Congress, with strong bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate, passed the Healthy Forests Restoration Act in December 2003, which contains key elements of the HFI. This Act gives the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior much-needed tools and authorities to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire to communities and to restore our Nation’s forests and grasslands. Mr. Chairman, over the past several years, your support and that of Senator Bingaman and other members of the Subcommittee have provided a focus on natural resource management today. This is especially true for the support you have shown for the HFI and HFRA.
The overwhelming support for the HFRA in Congress underscores the importance of this legislation across the Nation. The passage of this legislation shows the American people that Congress and the Administration are working together to combat hazardous fuels buildups, insect and disease infestations, and other threats to the Nation’s forests and grasslands. Through the HFRA, Congress has also provided Federal land management agencies with additional tools to improve the condition of watersheds, as well as fish and wildlife habitat; enhance grazing allotments; and utilize biomass from forest lands, which may in turn provide local communities with new, and often needed, economic opportunities.
Healthy Forests Initiative
In reflecting the President’s Healthy Forests Initiative, the FY 2005 President’s Budget places increased emphasis on protecting communities and property from the effects of catastrophic wildfire. The President’s Budget provides funding for many activities that support forest health, including $760 million for activities in the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior that directly and visibly will result in protecting communities and restoring watersheds through the reduction of hazardous fuels. With this funding and by working together, the Forest Service and Interior bureaus will be able to treat more acres more quickly. Much of the coordination for these activities will come about through the 10-Year Cohesive Strategy and Implementation Plan, in which Federal, State, tribal, and local partnerships have formed a foundation to improve the protection of natural resources and communities.
Some of the key aspects of the HFI include administrative initiatives that help expedite projects designed to restore forest and rangeland health. These efforts include new procedures, provided under the National Environmental Policy Act, to allow priority fuels reduction and forest restoration projects identified through collaboration with State local, and tribal governments to move forward more quickly. Guidance from the Council on Environmental Quality has helped to improve environmental assessments for priority forest health projects. As a result, the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior have developed 15 pilot fuels projects using this guidance and have completed the assessments on 13 of the 15 projects. Another improvement to the administrative process has been early and more meaningful public participation in the planning and implementation of forest health projects.
Let me provide some examples of what can be accomplished with the new authorities. Due to its mountainous topography, the Gila National Forest in southern New Mexico has the highest fire occurrences in the State. Dense stands of mature trees and a continuing drought have combined to create a very dangerous wildland fire situation that threatens local communities and wildlife and fisheries habitat. In the summer of 2003, the Gila National Forest successfully used expedited administrative processes to complete planning on four categorical exclusions under the Healthy Forests Initiative. The four projects total 510 acres. All of the projects will reduce hazardous fuels by removing trees mechanically and using prescribed fire. Small diameter non-commercial trees will be chipped or piled and burned. Since some of the projects are located in and around communities, this effort will afford additional protection to the communities, which may be the difference that avoids disaster during a wildland fire.
In Arizona, the benefits of stewardship contracting authority, which was significantly enhanced under HFRA, will be realized through a 10-year project on the Apache- Sitgreaves National Forest. The White River stewardship project, which will start this spring, includes multiple treatments over a 150,000-acre area. The project will use the full stewardship contracting authority authorized in HFRA, thereby reducing costs of current contracting methods by one-half to two-thirds. The project has the full support of the Governor, county commissioners, and local officials.
The administrative relief provided in the Healthy Forests Initiative made possible the planning and implementation of these projects in the same year, thereby allowing projects that are essential to protecting communities to proceed as quickly as possible. HFI is helping to decrease the wildfire threat to communities in a timely manner and promote a healthier forest. I firmly believe that over the long term, the reduction of hazardous fuels in priority areas through efforts supported by the HFRA will be the single most important factor in reducing the cost of wildfire suppression.
With Federal wildfire suppression costs exceeding $1 billion in 3 out of the last 4 fiscal years, this factor alone makes passage of the HFRA an important accomplishment. The FY 2005 President’s Budget also reflects a continued commitment to containing wildfire suppression costs by including cost containment performance measures and implementation of actions called for in the FY 2004 President’s Budget, including a study of the use of aviation resources on large fires. An emphasis on the accountability of line officers and incident commanders also will be continued.
Clean Audit Opinion
Now I would like to address the second issue, which is the “clean” audit opinion the Forest Service recently received. This is the second unqualified opinion in the last 2 years for the Forest Service, after many years of financial accountability problems. The Forest Service and the Department are working to ensure that timely, reliable financial information is provided in which the receipt of a clean opinion is a byproduct of an efficient and cost-effective financial management organization and system sustainable in the long term. Chief Bosworth can be justifiably proud of the accomplishment of two clean audits, although as I noted last year, it is the minimum the public should expect. However, as he will tell you later, achieving this opinion required a Herculean effort by Forest Service employees that cannot be sustained with the organization that is currently in place. This effort was highlighted in the USDA’s Office of Inspector General’s Audit Report for Fiscal Years 2003 and 2002, which stated that the Forest Service does not operate as an effective, sustainable, and accountable financial management organization. This illustrates additional work on business process design, operation, and control needs to be undertaken to address the reportable conditions and material weaknesses indicated in the FY 2002 and FY 2003 audits.
With this in mind, there are two imperative objectives the Forest Service will be facing this year: sustaining the clean audit opinion for FY 2004 and, even more importantly, addressing the underlying financial management infrastructure challenges the Forest Service faces by building a highly reliable and cost-effective financial management organization. A massive effort to meet the FY 2004 accelerated and congressionally-mandated audit deadline of November 15, 2004 is already under way. The approach being used is different than those used in the past, in an effort to find and address financial accountability problems as early as possible. In addition, the agency is taking steps to consolidate and centralize operations where feasible and practicable in order to make a more efficient and cost-effective organization. I know Chief Bosworth is committed to implementing reforms that will ensure the continued trust of the American taxpayer and the most efficient administrative organization possible.
Conclusion
Mr. Chairman, in closing, let me emphasize the importance of the FY 2005 President’s Budget for the Forest Service. We have great opportunities and challenges ahead. Due to the support of Congress for the Healthy Forests Restoration Act, we can pursue a strategy for returning our Nation’s forests and grasslands to a healthy state. As you know, this will take time, but with the continued support of your Subcommittee and Congress, we will be able to see significant, sustained progress in that direction and will ultimately reach our goal.
I look forward to working with you in implementing the agency’s fiscal year 2005 program and would be happy to answer any questions.
