After one of the worst public land wildfire seasons on record, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt promised counties a central role in forest fire prevention efforts at a meeting with the NACo Western Interstate Region (WIR) Board of Directors in Jackson Hole, Wyo. He committed to including NACo’s Public Lands Steering Committee chair on a national panel to study the next steps toward forest health.

The secretary told the WIR board that the federal government’s forestland management practices have contributed significantly to forest health problems. He also acknowledged that the grassroots expertise of county governments should be capitalized upon in order to prevent the kind of devastation that wildfires caused in the West this summer.

After his comments, Babbitt, NACo President-elect Javier Gonzales, the WIR Board Executive Committee and NACo’s Public Lands Steering Committee Chair Ron Christensen, were briefed by the National Park Service and toured the Alder wild land fire site in Grand Teton National Park.

“Counties should absolutely be included in the national review of our forest restoration needs,” Babbitt said. “We have learned a lesson. The old way of managing our forests does not work. We need a strong intergovernmental process in each state that identifies priority areas for treatment, and a plan for getting the work done… We cannot be successful unless counties are involved in virtually every aspect of fire prevention strategies.”

Babbitt’s visit came in response to a letter that NACo sent to President Clinton last month. Signed by NACo President Jane Hague on behalf of NACo’s Executive Committee and Steering Committee chairs, the letter demanded that legislation be passed implementing new land management practices that would decrease the threat of wild fires.

In a follow-up letter to the secretary, Ron Baumgart, WIR president, reiterated the need to use the broadest ranges of techniques to thin the forests. He made clear NACo’s position that trees of mixed age, species and size needed to be removed to improve the condition of the forests. He also stated the need to use the expertise of the forest products industry.