Over the last five years, over $14.24 billion have been appropriated to the National Fire Plan (NFP). At a time of large federal deficits and increasing pressure to re-examine federal budget priorities, the question must be asked whether these taxpayer dollars have promoted safer communities and more resilient ecosystems.

The following briefs provide information about how fire management funds have been distributed over the past few years and the Administration’s proposal for fire funding in fiscal year 2007.

While strides have been made in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of federal fire management – for example, funding for community fire assistance increased between fiscal years 2003 and 2005 and Congress created a supplemental suppression account to reduce program disruptions caused by past borrowing – the Administration’s 2007 budget plans to short-cut many community fire assistance programs and ultimately sends the message that the goal of safer communities is not a top priority.

Safer Communities Not a Priority in FY 07: Forest Service Budget Proposes 25% Reduction in Community Fire Assistance Funding
Programs have been designed to help states and localities promote fire-adapted communities in fire-resilient landscapes. Funding for these programs has declined significantly since FY 2005 and that trend continues in FY 2007. This brief provides information on these community fire assistance programs and examines funding for those programs in the FY 07 budget.
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The Forest Service’s Economic Action Program: Key Community Assistance Program Again Targeted for Elimination
EAP provides one of, if not the only, source of funding for adding wildfire risk assessments and defensible space planning to community action plans. The Administration has consistently sought to eliminate this program and is doing so again in FY 2007. This brief explains why funding this program is important and how that funding should be structured.
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Funding for Non-Federal and Federal Fire Management Needs to Be Better Balanced
Less than 11% of the $14.24 billion appropriated to the National Fire Plan in the last five years has gone to non-federal partners. This brief describes how funding can be redistributed to better balance non-federal and federal fire funding to help insure more effective national fire management.
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Supplemental Wildfire Suppression Account Should Be Maintained, but Additional Cost-Control Measures Are Needed
Recognizing that past borrowing of funds from other agency programs for wildland fire suppression caused project cancellations, strained relationships with partners, and disruptions in management, Congress established a supplemental wildfire suppression account to preclude that practice. This brief provides a history of the account, why it should be maintained, and the importance of additional cost-control measures.
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