Read the op-ed I wrote that appeared in the Colorado Springs Gazette about provisions in the 2012 Farm Bill he advocated for that would support proactive forest management to prevent and mitigate the spread of future super-fires.

Continuing to address the challenges we face in the West

By Mark Udall, For the Colorado Springs Gazette

Wildfires have become an unfortunate and all-too-common fact of life for many Coloradans this year. We all watched as the High Park fire quickly grew from a lightning strike to become one of the three largest blazes in Colorado history. Less than two weeks later, we watched as the Waldo Canyon fire engulfed entire homes as it tore through El Paso County, forcing tens of thousands of Coloradans to evacuate.

My thoughts and prayers go out to each evacuee, firefighter and victim of these blazes that have burned across the state. Their experiences have only hardened my resolve to provide our firefighters on the ground with every available federal resource and to fundamentally change how we manage our forests and federal lands to prevent future super-fires in Colorado.

I know President Obama shares my resolve. He and I recently toured the Waldo Canyon fire area and met with local firefighters, Mayor Steve Bach and others who worked on the front lines of the fire. I was glad the president made visiting the Waldo Canyon fire site a top priority. In addition to giving him a critical, boots-on-the-ground view of the severe wildfire's toll, the tour also showed him the importance of wildfire and forest health issues that my colleagues in the Colorado delegation and I advocate for every year.

The Waldo Canyon fire underlines why we must better prepare for large-scale blazes and better manage our forests to mitigate the risks posed by the bark beetle epidemic and drought conditions. Coloradans know that decades of outdated approaches to forest-management, coupled with our increasingly hot and dry weather conditions, have turned large swaths of our nation's forests into tinder boxes - and it was important for the president to see this in person.

The destruction we both saw firsthand will help President Obama and me better communicate the importance of federal wildfire preparedness and mitigation efforts. This includes ensuring that we have adequate air-tanker support for our firefighters on the ground, working on longer-term strategies to clear dead timber, protecting our precious water resources from the long-term effects of fire and ensuring communities near burn areas can be prepared to mitigate new risks after a fire on federal lands.

This work is already paying off. In fact, President Obama just signed into law two bills I sponsored that will help protect families across Colorado and the West from wildfire risks. The first bill fast-tracks the Forest Service's ability to obtain new, next-generation air tankers to help attack and defend against wildfire outbreaks. The second will make federal flood insurance more quickly accessible for those living in and around burn areas who have now found their homes and families vulnerable because of shifting flood plains.

We are making good progress, but we need to continue pressing to address the unique challenges we face in the West - especially in Washington, D.C., where the importance of these issues can be lost without dedicated advocacy and hard work.

At home, I am proud of the Coloradans who have stepped up to support their neighboring communities, such as Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs and Fort Collins, that are rebuilding in the wake of our current fire season. Their tireless efforts have assured Coloradans and tourists alike - just as in past fire seasons - that Colorado is still vibrant and open for business. Tourism is critical to helping these communities bounce back and I know these areas will be waiting with open arms as Americans return to enjoy the amazing recreational opportunities Colorado has to offer.

In the U.S. Senate, I'll continue to fight for policies that ensure that our communities are empowered to protect themselves from the risks of wildfire while remaining good stewards of our lands. Though it's not always immediately apparent, every sector of our economy relies on healthy forests. The investments we make today in the health of our forests will have reverberating impacts on the ability of our state's economy to continue growing.

Mark Udall is the senior senator for the state of Colorado. He serves on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and is chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks.