Letter to Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture - Bark Beetle Epidemic

Letter

Recognizing that more must be done to stop the beetle kill in the Rocky Mountain Region, today, Rep. Scott Tipton (CO-03) and Rep. Kristi Noem (SD-06) sent a letter, signed by ten members of Congress, to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack requesting that he redirect unused Forest Service funds toward mitigating the bark beetle epidemic. The letter was signed by six members of the Colorado delegation.

The letter did not call for any new funds, but asked any existing unused Forest Service funds from the FY2010 budget be reallocated to carry out additional critical hazard mitigation activities in the region.

Since the outbreak in 1996, the bark beetle epidemic has severely damaged forests in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. In total it has destroyed or damaged over 41 million acres of pine forests, including 2.9 million acres in Colorado. The epidemic has affected many miles of roads, paths and trails, created a severe fire hazard, and put essential water supplies at risk.

The letter stated, "Healthy forests are important to the livelihood of millions of people in the West and critical to economic recovery. The forests are a source of a reliable water supply, tourism, energy generation, and recreation for the region. Swift action is essential in the face of threats to public safety and critical infrastructure."

"People's lives and livelihoods are at risk because of the damage that has been inflicted by the bark beetle," Tipton said. "We have been losing the fight in the Rocky Mountain Region, and we bear the scars in our district. We must do more to stop the epidemic."

Tipton has reached out to the Forest Service and scheduled a meeting for next week with Forest Service Chief, Tom Tidwell, to discuss bark beetle mitigation moving forward.

The copy of the letter is below.

April 6, 2011

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 write you to express our concern with the bark beetle epidemic, which has destroyed or damaged over 41 million acres of pine forests in the last 14 years. We would also like to express our gratitude for your dedication to address this emergency situation which has severely impacted forests in the Rocky Mountain Region which include Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

The Rocky Mountain Region has struggled to keep ahead of the bark beetle epidemic as the situation grows even more severe each year. As you are aware, investments were made toward bark beetle recovery efforts in the Rocky Mountain Region of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) totaling $40 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2010. These funds, specifically dedicated to bark beetle activities, enabled the Forest Service to carry out critical hazard mitigation activities in the region.

We share your goals of sound, long-term forest management, protection of public safety and critical infrastructure. To meet these goals, it is essential to maintain sustained support to address the spread of bark beetles. It is imperative that we have a sense of urgency this spring to address this problem before the beetles spread to healthy areas of the forests in the summer.

It is our understanding that there are unobligated funds from FY 2010, which could be used for western beetle mitigation. We have been supportive of efforts to redirect some of the unobligated FY 2010 USFS funds toward bark beetle mitigation activities in the Rocky Mountain Region. While we are fully aware of the fiscal situation of the nation and scarce funding resources, we maintain that redirecting some of the unsed funds to respond to this national emergency is an opportunity to use existing resources where they are greatly needed.

Healthy forests are important to the livelihood of millions of people in the West and crucial to economic recovery. The forests are a source of a reliable water supply, tourism, energy generation, and recreation for the region. Swift action is essential in the face of threats to public safety and critical infrastructure.

Thank you for you consideration of our request and your leadership on this important issue. We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Kristi Noem
Member of Congress

Scott Tipton
Member of Congress

Cynthia Lummis
Member of Congress

Lee Terry
Member of Congress

Jared Polis
Member of Congress

Cory Gardner
Member of Congress

Diana DeGette
Member of Congress

Ed Perlmutter
Member of Congress

Kevin Yoder
Member of Congress

Doug Lamborn
Member of Congress

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