Bill Text: AZ SCR1007 | 2014 | Fifty-first Legislature 2nd Regular | Introduced
Bill Title: Wildfires; forest management
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2014-04-21 - Transmitted to Secretary Of State [SCR1007 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2014-SCR1007-Introduced.html
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REFERENCE TITLE: wildfires; forest management |
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State of Arizona Senate Fifty-first Legislature Second Regular Session 2014
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SCR 1007 |
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Introduced by Senator Griffin: Representative Otondo
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A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Supporting forest management and the use of appropriately scaled industry to preserve the safety of Arizona communities, the health of Arizona forests and the strength of the Arizona economy.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Whereas, America's national forests have their origins in legislation that Congress adopted in the late 19th century that provided that any new forest reserves would have to meet the criteria of forest protection, watershed protection and timber production; and
Whereas, for decades, national forests were an environmental, recreational and economic asset for neighboring communities, providing forest products for a thriving timber industry, recreation for families and environmental awareness for conservationists; and
Whereas, beginning in the 1980s and 1990s, environmental groups sued the United States Forest Service to halt timber sales, claiming that the sales threatened the habitat of the Mexican spotted owl and other species; and
Whereas, these lawsuits were eventually defeated but not before Arizona's once-thriving timber industry was starved of its source of wood product; and
Whereas, the elimination of Arizona's timber industry, along with additional lawsuits from environmental groups and federal mismanagement, led to a dramatic increase in tree density throughout Arizona's national forests; and
Whereas, as a result of these higher tree densities and severe drought conditions, Arizona began to experience wildfires on a significantly larger scale than ever before in the state's history; and
Whereas, the six largest wildfires in Arizona history have all occurred in the last twelve years; and
Whereas, these fires have included the Rodeo-Chediski Fire, which burned 460,000 acres, the Aspen Fire, which burned 84,750 acres, the Willow Fire, which burned 119,500 acres, the Cave Creek Fire, which burned 243,950 acres, the Wallow Fire, which burned 537,900 acres, and the Horseshoe 2 Fire, which burned 222,954 acres; and
Whereas, before 1990, the largest wildfire in state history was the Carrizo Fire, which burned 57,000 acres in 1971; and
Whereas, following the Rodeo-Chediski Fire, a consensus began to emerge among forest stakeholders that the growing size and frequency of wildfires demanded a new approach to forest management; and
Whereas, this consensus included agreement that the new approach must include partnerships and investment with private industry to aggressively thin Arizona's national forests at landscape scales, which resulted in the formation of the White Mountain Stewardship Contract and other stewardship initiatives to reintroduce industry to Arizona's forests; and
Whereas, this approach is supported by a broad range of stakeholders, including environmental groups, experts in academia, local governments and the timber industry; and
Whereas, these stakeholders agree that the United States Forest Service must commit the resources and reforms necessary to implement landscape-scale forest thinning and to provide harvest-ready acres on a consistent basis for existing and emerging industry in Arizona.
Therefore
Be it resolved by the Senate of the State of Arizona, the House of Representatives concurring:
1. That the Members of the Legislature place the highest importance on the issues of forest management and support the use of appropriately scaled industry to preserve the safety of our communities, the health of our forests and the strength of our economy.
2. That the Members of the Legislature look to the United States Forest Service to take meaningful steps to collaboratively move forward with forest stakeholders on major forest thinning projects and to provide increased financial support to Arizona's local forests to keep existing industry supplied with enough treatable acres.
