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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Wildland fire danger needs cooperation among entities

Associated Press

CASPER, Wyo. – Government agencies responsible for the health of the nation’s wildlands must constantly strive to improve communications and work together, especially as another fire season begins, officials said during a meeting Thursday.

Federal and state officials gathered at the behest of the Western Governors Association.

Representatives of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and Wyoming’s Forestry Division were among those in attendance, along with officials from local governments, firefighting agencies and environmental groups.

Gov. Dave Freudenthal, who offered the keynote address, voiced skepticism about the premise of the conference.

“I remain perplexed about conference after conference on how to collaborate,” he said.

Because people won’t agree on everything, participants should do more to understand why they disagree about professional matters, science and allocating their resources, he said.

“Have fewer conferences about how to collaborate and more about how to understand each other,” Freudenthal said.

Wyoming State Forester Bill Crapser said government agencies have done well improving fire suppression, educating the public about keeping their homes safe from fire and working with communities.

For example, the Legislature appropriated money for a statewide firefighting helicopter that will be based at Edness Kimball Wilkins Park east of Casper.

But the agencies need to do better restoring forest health and collaborating among themselves, he said.

Some aspects of cooperation have improved in recent years, such as cooperation among federal, state and local firefighting agencies, he said.

However, policy issues remain, Crapser said.

The Forest Service must comply with a host of environmental regulations before embarking on a project, whereas private and state lands don’t face those requirements, he said.

Projects like mitigating the effect of wayward beetles and invasive species often don’t affect the land of just one agency, Crapser said.

The conference, which ends today, offered workshops and speakers to train the agencies to collaborate.