Budget offers $50 million for forests across the U.S.

The budget calls for an additional $50 million next year to protect and restore national forests in the U.S. "as a cornerstone of a healthy, sustainable environment." The money will "protect natural resources and maintain facilities," including those that got a funding bump in the economic stimulus package signed into law earlier this month. The just-enacted stimulus law also allocated more money to the Forest Service. It devotes $650 million to spending on Forest Service roads, trail maintenance and environmental enhancement projects, Oppenheimer said. An additional $250 million goes toward fuel reduction programs in national forests. Money spent on those efforts - including clearing undergrowth, targeted thinning and proscribed burns - is expected to cut down on long-term firefighting costs. For fires, the budget establishes a dedicated fund for fighting catastrophic wildfires and also fully funds the 10-year average cost of federal firefighting efforts. It also establishes a $75 million contingency fund to use when the 10-year fund is exhausted. That means annual forest management budgets are less likely to be robbed to fight catastrophic fires. It will "ensure that resources are available for other critical activities" of the agencies that oversee public forest land, said Don Smurthwaite, a spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise...Idaho Statesman