Letter to The Honorable Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture

Letter

U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) announced today in Rapid City that he has asked the Department of Agriculture to put sufficient resources in place to address the pine beetle epidemic that has killed or damaged more than 41 million acres of pine forests in South Dakota and across the Rocky Mountain region since 1997.

Johnson, together with his colleagues from across the region, has asked Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to put unspent FY2010 appropriated funding toward bark beetle mitigation activities in the area.

A copy of the letter is below:

The Honorable Tom Vilsack
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Jamie L. Whitten Building
1400 Independence Ave, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20010

Dear Secretary Vilsack:

We appreciate your efforts to address the bark beetle epidemic, which has killed or damaged more than 41 million acres of pine forests since 1997. We know you have a first-hand understanding of the extent of the damage and the emergency nature of the situation. We are grateful for your dedication to the bark beetle problem.

The Rocky Mountain Region has grappled with the bark beetle epidemic for more than 10 years and it is in Colorado, Wyoming and increasingly South Dakota where the epidemic is most severe. As you know, in Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 investments totaling $40 million were made towards bark beetle recovery efforts in the Rocky Mountain Region of the Forest Service (USFS). Dedicating additional funds specifically to bark beetle activities enabled the Forest Service to complete critical hazard mitigation activities without compromising routine operations.

To achieve our shared goals of protecting public safety and critical infrastructure, advancing forest recovery, and strengthening the forests' long-term resilience; it is essential to maintain sustained and dedicated support for bark beetle activities. Failure to take preventative action risks human lives and livelihoods, local economies, wildlife, and water quality throughout the west.

We understand that there has been a balance of unobligated funds from FY2010 under the Federal Land Assistance, Management and Enhancement (FLAME) Act. As you are aware, we have encouraged and supported all efforts to redirect any unobligated FY10 USFS funding -- from the FLAME Act fund or other accounts with unobligated balances from FY10 -- toward bark beetle mitigation activities in the Rocky Mountain Region.

We are fully cognizant of the urgent need to get our nation's fiscal house in order and we also recognize that funding is scarce at the USFS and the USDA. However, we maintain that redirecting unused funds is an opportunity to respond to a national emergency and demonstrate how the federal government can effectively and efficiently direct existing resources where they are needed most. While we support efforts to reprogram these funds, we also support maintaining adequate dedicated funding for bark beetle activities in the remainder of FY2011 and in FY2012.

In the West, healthy forests support the livelihood of millions of Westerners. They help to ensure a reliable water supply for agriculture and municipalities and support industries based in tourism and recreation, while providing opportunities for energy generation. Our forests are critical to economic recovery and to the Western way of life. In the face of increasing threats to public safety and critical infrastructure, we need swift action to preserve the innumerable benefits of healthy forests for future generations. Failure is not an option; prudent action is essential.

Thank you for considering our request. We appreciate your leadership on this important issue, and we look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Michael F. Bennet Mark Udall
U.S. Senator U.S. Senator

Tim Johnson John Thune
U.S. Senator U.S. Senator