May revision allocates $40 million to the program on top of the $10 million included in the early budget bill. CFIP provides grants to private land- owners with smaller holdings—typically those with more than 20 acres but fewer than5,000acres—toengage in fuel-reduc- tion and forest-improvement projects. “I don’t think there has been a true dis- cussion about the financial resources that are needed to return public and private lands to a more sustainable and resilient condition. Management and mitigation will require significant public and private investment inCalifornia,” Spiegel said. Participants in CFIP “are folks who do not have amill,” he said. “These are small- scale private landowners, who are genu- inely trying to not only reduce fuel loads but also improve resiliency, contribute to reforestation efforts and continue to be good stewards of the land.” Spiegel described CFIP as “critical to offsetting some of those costs borne by these landowners.” Among other provisions, the budget envisions a total of $250 million for the Cal Fire forest health program and $50 million for its fire-prevention projects, along with $20 million for California ConservationCorps fuel-reduction proj- ects. The governor proposed$153million to take care of state-owned lands under Prevention Continued from Page 3
the jurisdiction of California State Parks, the Department of Fish andWildlife and the State Lands Commission. The budget alsoproposes spending $7.4 millionandhiring 22people across several departmentstoestablishaWildfireForecast andThreat Intelligence IntegrationCenter, as directed in2019 legislation. The center’s objectives would be to provide real-time intelligence and data regarding wildfire threats,devisemeans forpublicandprivate entities to engage inwildfiremitigation ef- forts, and serve as ahub for fire forecasting, threat intelligencegatheringandanalysis. The state budget revisions came as fed- eral officials gear up for a 2021 wildfire season they said could be as bad as 2020. “At this point in time, the signals and indications are that we are headed to yet another very dangerous fire year, starting in the Southwest andmoving throughout thewestern part of theUnited States,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary TomVilsack said at last week’s media briefing. “We’re seeing a higher level of risk and an earlier level of risk thanwe’ve seen in the recent past.” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said persistent drought conditions in theWest “have strained water supplies, impacted farmers, ranchers, fish and wildlife, and tribal and non-tribal communities alike.” Vilsack said that during a visit to Colorado, he learned the cost of extin- guishing a wildfire is about $50,000 per acre, as opposed to the cost of mitigation,
estimated at $1,400 to $1,500 per acre “for additional resources that would allow us to do more treatment, allow us to create moreproducts,woodproducts, allowus to domore reforestation—all as anapproach and an effort to significantly increase the level of commitment to treatment.” Haaland said collaboration at all lev- els of the public and private sectors will be needed. “Wemust reinforce and strengthen our partnerships with tribes, state and local governments and the private sector to
address climate change by engaging and empoweringcommunities tohelpmitigate wildfire risks,”Haaland said. “Increasing the resiliency of communi- ties at risk for wildfire alsomeans a com- mitment to personnel, science and tech- nology that will lead to better informed andmore effective land-management de- cisions, aswell as investing incleanenergy technology and infrastructure,” she said. (Kevin Hecteman i s an ass i stant editor of Ag Alert. He can be contacted at khecteman@cfbf.com.)
Air board sets online session to review new truck rules
14,000 pounds—have emission-control systems inproperworking order, and that malfunctioning systems are repaired in a timelymanner. The ARB said it intends the webinar to describe the concepts of the programand discuss ways of meeting the challenges it might present for individual farmers. The workshop will be held May 27 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. For more infor- mat ion and to register, go to ww2. a rb. ca . gov /our-wo rk /prog rams / inspection-and-maintenance-program/ Meetings-and-Workshops.
To familiarize farmers, ranchers and other agricultural professionalswithapro- gram to assure emissions compliance by heavy-duty diesel vehicles, the California Air Resources Board has scheduled a vir- tual workshop next week. The agency said the workshop will give participants an opportunity to com- ment on the Heavy Duty Inspection and Maintenance Program. Created by legislation enacted in 2019, the program aims to ensure that heavy-duty vehicles—diesel vehicles withagross vehicularweight ofmore than
May 19, 2021 Ag Alert 13
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