Ranchers will fork over for fire repairs; Forest Service says costs can be claimed

About a dozen ranchers will pay to repair damage from the controlled burn that got away from the Forest Service on the Grand River National Grasslands last week. They were told they can file federal claims for reimbursement, but they say they need help now. District ranger Paul Hancock told the Perkins County Commission that the agency will start Monday on repairs to its own 28 miles of fencing damaged when a small controlled burn jumped away from the fire crew on a warm, windy afternoon and burned through 14,000 acres of private and federal pastures.The ranger oversees the grasslands located just across the border between Hettinger and Lemmon, S.D. Ranchers will have to pay for their own fence repairs and any feed they buy for their livestock, then be reimbursed by filing a federal tort claim. Even though the ashes are cold on the fire after a weekend of dampening hot spots on the perimeter and Monday’s light snow, tempers are still warm. The commission had its own questions for the ranger and kept him on the hot seat in the commission chambers for more than an hour Tuesday, delaying lunch to get it all said. Commission Vice Chairman Wayne Henderson gave on overview of what ranchers went through during the fire and said volunteer firefighters didn’t get food or clear directions during the 10 hours they helped battle the blaze. “To say that your emergency response system failed is an understatement,” he told Hancock...more

From a previous post: The Forest Service has said it intends to compensate landowners for damages to fences, hay bales and anything else hurt by the fire.   

So how does this federal tort claim work?

The commission said the ranchers need help right away and Perkins County State’s Attorney Shane Penfield said he didn’t like the tort claim process because when they file for reimbursements, ranchers have to agree the claim settles their damage. The extent of some damage won’t be known for a long time, Henderson said. “A lot of them won’t know until they pregnancy-check their cows this fall and if they’re 20 percent down, then they’ll know,” he said. Stress from poor feed can reduce pregnancy rates in cows. Hancock said he didn’t know how long claims will take to get pushed through, and he asked the county for ideas for other funding sources in the meantime.

Them federales are pretty sneaky.  Wonder what process the Forest Service would use if the fire was set on private property and burned up federal land, improvements and facilities? Would they go after the culprit and all his assets or would they seek out "other funding sources"?  Let's just say I'd hate to be the poor bastard who set the fire.

And wouldn't a little "collaboration" have prevented this whole thing?  After all, the Chief is really big on that:

In testimony on Capitol Hill today, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell emphasized the importance of collaboration in developing restoration projects on national forests and grasslands. FS Press Release 

As deputy regional forester for the Pacific Southwest Region, Tom facilitated collaborative approaches to wildland fire management, roadless area management, and other issues. As regional forester for the Northern Region, Tom strongly supported community-based collaboration in the region, finding solutions based on mutual goals and thereby reducing the number of appeals and lawsuits. FS web site 

As regional forester, I focused on community-based collaboration—on finding solutions based on mutual goals. That was my experience as regional forester, and that’s how I’ve served as Chief. Tidwell speech.

So how's that working for these burned out ranchers?

Tim Smith, who heads the Grand River Grazing Association, which handles grazing permits on the grasslands, said the damage will exceed $1.5 million and cost the ranchers at least 60 percent of their grass under the best recovery conditions. “These are people’s lives and their life’s work got burned up over a burn that would have maybe improved grazing on 135 acres,” Smith said. “We (grazing association) don’t have a relationship with the Forest Service. They don’t listen.”