Bill to Prevent Carelessly Started Prescribed Burns on Forest Service Land Heads to President’s Desk

December 5, 2016

Washington, DC — U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) issued the following statements after the House passed Thune and Heitkamp’s Prescribed Burn Approval Act of 2016 (S. 3395), bipartisan legislation that would require collaboration between the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and local officials before initiating a prescribed burn on USFS lands when fire danger is rated as extreme. 

“Prescribed burns are a proven management tool that I support,” said Thune. “That said, before a prescribed burn is initiated, effective collaboration between Forest Service personnel and local officials is essential. South Dakota is all too familiar with what can happen when carelessly started prescribed burns, like the Pautre Fire, for example, blaze out of control. They can damage private property and require multiple local firefighting units, at a significant cost to taxpayers. I’m glad this common-sense bill is headed to the president, and I want to thank my colleagues in the House, including South Dakota Rep. Kristi Noem and House leadership, for recognizing the need to get this bill to the finish line.”

“The Forest Service needs to listen when ranchers and first responders say conditions are unsafe for a burn – and this bill will help guarantee that happens,” said Heitkamp. “The Pautre wildfire was completely preventable, making it obvious that the Forest Service hasn’t done enough to listen to local communities in North Dakota and beyond. Our bipartisan bill will help prevent what happened in 2013 from happening again, which will help protect our ranchers, their property, and valuable grasslands.”

Thune and Heitkamp introduced this legislation in response to the Pautre fire, a prescribed burn that was intended to cover just over 100 acres in northwestern South Dakota, but quickly turned into a 16,000 acre out-of-control fire that burned for several days and destroyed millions of dollars in private property.

The collaboration requirements in S. 3395 pertain only to the U.S. Forest Service. The bill, which was unanimously approved by the Senate on November 17, now heads to the president for his signature.

Thune Provision Would Help Prevent Out-of-Control Federal Prescribed Burns

 

Washington – U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) Tuesday offered an amendment to the Emergency Wildfire and Forest Management Act of 2016 that would address the way prescribed burns are handled by federal agencies. Thune’s amendment, which was adopted by unanimous consent during today’s Senate Agriculture Committee markup, would require the federal government to cooperate with local and state fire officials before a prescribed burn is initiated or actually started when fire danger is at extreme levels. The amendment also requires the chief of the Forest Service to submit a report to Congress describing the number and locations of prescribed burns conducted by any federal agency.

Thune stressed the importance of federal-local collaboration ahead of any a prescribed burn determination, saying, “Local officials are going to know a little bit more about what the conditions are in the area.” Thune went on to say that had local officials been consulted prior to the initiation of the prescribed burns in question, the fires never would have been set in the first place.

Thune offered this amendment in response to the Pautre fire, a prescribed burn that was intended to cover just over 100 acres in northwestern South Dakota, but quickly turned into a 16,000 acre out-of-control fire that burned for several days and destroyed millions of dollars in property; and the Cold Brook Fire, which was set by the National Park Service and burned out of control on Wind Cave National Park property.

Last April, Thune introduced the Prescribed Burn Approval Act of 2015, a standalone bill that would require similar collaboration between federal, state, and local agencies.