An occasional series of conversations with experts on the science and policies regarding fires.
The conversation about forest health, climate change and last year’s wildfire season moved to the money side this week, with four bills dealing with mitigation and fire suppression on the agenda.
Monday, the House Agriculture, Livestock and Water Committee signed off on House Bill 1008, which would allow local communities to set up their own special districts to finance local mitigation projects.
It’s worth noting that the state’s wish list for mitigation funding is in the ballpark of $750 million, just for the most urgent areas. It would take $2.4 billion to fund all mitigation projects in unhealthy forests, according to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR)