Last week, Senator Dianne Feinstein joined Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colorado), Cory Gardner (R-Colorado) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) in two separate requests to the Senate Committee on Appropriations for federal funding to support wildfire recovery efforts in the West. In the first request, the senators urged the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies to secure additional funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Emergency Watershed Protection program to help counties protect against post-fire damage. Additional funding, and greater flexibility on cost share requirements, would ensure that the USDA can partner effectively with state and local governments to recover from wildfires. In the second request, the senators called on the Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies to secure additional funding for the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to rehabilitate Forest Service lands after a devastating wildfire season. Without additional funding for reforestation, trail and facility repair and habitat restoration, the USFS may be forced to divert funding from existing programs or leave important recovery projects undone.
