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This year�s firefighting budget safe Proposed cuts would take effect in October By Paul Fattig A Bush administration proposal to cut the Forest Service�s fire plan by about a half-billion dollars next year would not affect this year�s firefighting efforts. The Forest Service�s current program to hire and train about 3,500 additional firefighters nationwide is already funded in the budget for this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. The program includes roughly 130 additional firefighters being hired and trained for the Rogue River and Siskiyou national forests in anticipation of a season prime for wildfires because of drought-like conditions. However, next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, could find the agency�s budget to fight wildfires trimmed by about $500 million, down from about $1.9 billion in fiscal year 2001, according to the most recent budget proposal for the Forest Service. But it is too early to accurately predict what will happen in the next budget cycle, cautioned Jeff Eager, press secretary for U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River. "Right now, all Congress has from the president is a broad outline for the 2002 budget," he said. "We have no idea what budget will be for fighting fires. We�ve heard the rumors, too. But there is no way to know what numbers will be right now." Bush�s initial budget proposal won�t be presented to Congress until next month, he said, adding that Congress will then begin working on it. "So we�re a ways out to know how it will affect specific national forests," he said. "The budget is still being worked out in the administration. When they send out the final proposal in April, we will look at it item by item. "As the saying goes, what the president proposes the Congress disposes," he added. Meanwhile, Walden has been a proponent of an effort by the agency to reduce fuel loads in forests as well as having adequate firefighters to battle catastrophic fires, Eager said. "This is something he would be looking at," he added. Local Forest Service officials are also waiting for the budget to move further along through the congressional process. "Until we get the official word, we have nothing to go on now," said Mary Marrs, spokeswoman for the Rogue River and Siskiyou forests. Nationally, the Forest Service has budgeted $4.4 billion for the fiscal year that started Oct. 1, its single largest annual appropriation. Much of the increase was attributed to fire spending in the wake of last year�s fires that charred more than 7 million acres. While it is not yet clear what Bush will propose for the total Forest Service budget for the upcoming fiscal year, early drafts suggest the fire plan could take a $500 million hit � mainly with the elimination of a $425 million emergency fund. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.