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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Chinese site uses Medford domain name for car scam ... Medford teen sentenced for assaulting baby ... Mercy Flights debuts new helicopter ... Chinese site uses Medford domain name for car scam ... Medford teen sentenced for assaulting baby ... Mercy Flights debuts new helicopter ... OTHER VIEWS Other Views: Overhaul the national firefighting budget Comment By Corvallis Gazette-Times MailTribune.com By Corvallis Gazette-Times Posted Feb. 7, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Corvallis Gazette-Times Posted Feb. 7, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News Congress is back in session and so lawmakers are giving the usual lip service to working together in a bipartisan manner. May we suggest one place to start? Last week, a group of U.S. senators from both parties introduced a common-sense solution to overhaul the way we pay for the largest wildfires on federal lands. It's a measure that should have passed last session, but became yet another victim of what became the least-effective Congress in memory. The bill, sponsored by Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden (a Democrat) and Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo (a Republican), essentially would treat the biggest wildfires as natural disasters. Federal agencies currently base wildland fire suppression budgets on the average costs of the last 10 years. But with every successive fire season bringing larger and hotter-burning fires, the end result every year is that the actual cost of firefighting far exceeds the money budgeted. When that happens — and it happened again last year, just as it has for several years running — the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management must dip into funds that had been earmarked for other projects to keep firefighting efforts running. Those other projects often involve forest maintenance or fire prevention — for example, thinning the undergrowth that is choking our forests. The end result is easy to predict: As we fall further and further behind on performing long-overdue maintenance, our neglected forests and other public lands are at increased risk of burning in the next fire season. And you've doubtless noted that fire seasons in these parts are starting earlier and earlier. The Wyden-Crapo bill (which is co-sponsored by three Republican senators and three Democratic senators) aims to break that vicious cycle. Federal fire officials estimate that the largest 1 percent of fires consume 30 percent of firefighting budgets. Under the terms of the Wyden-Crapo bill, any fire suppression spending above 70 percent of the 10-year average for firefighting would be eligible to be funded under a separate disaster account. In essence, the bill would treat the very biggest wildfires as full-fledged natural disasters — which they are. The reasoning is that removing those huge fires from the regular budget would help protect money that had been budgeted for fire-prevention projects — projects that seek to prevent the next huge fire, or at least help ensure that the next big fire doesn't burn quite as hot. The last term of Congress also featured an alternative proposal from three Republican senators that would have allowed federal agencies to tap into emergency funds only if they completely exhaust a given year's budget — and it specified that half of any money would have to go to fuel-reduction projects. We prefer the Wyden-Crapo approach. But any action by Congress to help cut through this budgetary cycle of neglect would be welcome — and, truth be told, a little surprising. By Corvallis Gazette-Times MailTribune.com By Corvallis Gazette-Times Posted Feb. 7, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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