Wildfire rehab projects stall during shutdown
Wildfire rehab projects stall during shutdown
18 October 2013
published by http://magicvalley.com
USA — The government re-opened Thursday after a 16-day shutdown, but itll take a few more days before its business as usual for Idahos federal employees.
Idaho lost the prime window to tackle wildfire rehabilation projects, as well as reseeding thousands of scorched acres burned by the summers flames and repairing damaged fences on public land.
Now, fire officials are racing against the quickly cooling weather to finish many of the delayed projects that need to get done, said Chris Simonsen, fire management officer with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
We cant get that time back, Simonsen said. We missed a critical three weeks of excellent field time.
Crews are being dispatched immediately to begin working on soil stabilization in areas the 108,000-acre Beaver Creek Fire destroyed in the Wood River Valley, he said. Reseeding efforts will also begin, but only as long as the weather permits.
Contractors hired with the BLM were also told to stop working during the shutdown, meaning projects like juniper removal are no longer on schedule, Simonsen said.
Were going to do as much as we can, he said. But its going to take a couple days before were back on track and everythings normal.
Simonson is working with a slightly smaller crew, because several of his seasonal workers chose to get new jobs during the shutdown.
They didnt know when they were going to get paid, he said. If a government shutdown becomes more frequent, I see that affecting our recruitment. People may not see working for the federal government as a stable environment.
Foresters with the Sawtooth National Forest kept a handful of employees working during the shutdown to respond to mudslides and erosion from this summers wildfires, said Sharon LaBrecque, planning and natural resources staff officer with the U.S. Forest Service.
That was considered a human health and safety issue, LaBrecque said.
What and how much will get done was still being discussed Thursday, said Nate Lancaster, fire management officer for the Sawtooth National Forest.
The forest saw an above average fire activity, meaning theres more than average amount of work that needs rehab this fall, he said.
Theres going to be a loss of time to do what needs to get done, he said. Were just now starting that discussion though. Theres going to be some more meetings.
