To further address the severity of current wildland fire activity across the western states, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack have directed federal land managers to take additional measures to help reduce the risks of new wildfires, ensure the highest possible level of coordination among federal land management agencies, and continue to prioritize safety for firefighters and communities. Building on existing federal and state policies designed to decrease the likelihood of accidental fires, the joint memorandum directs federal land managers to prohibit the personal use of fireworks on lands managed by the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming until July 8, 2012. These local managers will also enforce additional fire restrictions or public land closures as appropriate for the 4th of July holiday and heighten law enforcement and fire prevention patrols in critical areas to ensure that all applicable restrictions are enforced...more
We've got an MOU, more law dogs and more restrictions on the public, so everything should be just dandy.
The West should have their own 4th of July...A Declaration of Independence.
2 comments:
So Frank, what do you propose land managing agencies do to keep people from using fire works and leaving camp fires unattended, thus creating potential for fires....regardless of if a place has been thinned or not?
Sorry you didn't pick up on the sarcasm in my comments.
The shame is that more restrictions on the public is the only tool you have left.
The two big fires in southern NM, Gila & Little Bear, plus the most recent in the Lincoln were all caused by lightning strikes. The big ones burned hotter and longer because of poor mgt. by the feds. Restricting the public wouldn't help in these cases.
And 3 and a half years into the Obama adm. and they decide we need an MOU on coordination? Either there has been poor coordination for 3+ years or this is an election year gimmick.
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