Colorado Senators Gardner, Bennet Aim to Restructure Forest Service Wildfire Spending

U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner of Colorado have negotiated a proposed change in wildfire funding structure for the U.S. Forest Service. It’s part of the $1.3 trillion spending bill that Congress hopes to pass by the end of the week. If the bill passes, the change will allow the Forest Service to use a separate emergency fund to pay for wildfires instead of borrowing money from various accounts, as they had before. It will also update the projected costs for wildfire funding and provide more certainty in the budget, according to Bennet spokesperson Samantha Slater. In a release, Bennet calls the previous model of wildfire funding “antiquated” and says this deal will modernize the funding structures. Slater also says the new system will allow for more efficient spending in the face of climate change and increasing fire mitigation costs.