HomeMy WebLinkAboutR02-132 Forest Management - Healthy Forests Reform Act of 2002•
Commissioner C Y'tl7lr2. moved adoption
of the following Resolution
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
COUNTY OF EAGLE, STATE OF COLORADO
RESOLUTION N0.2002 - c~
EAGLE COUNTY ADVOCATING COMMON SENSE FOREST MANAGEMENT AND
SUPPORT FOR THE HEALTHY FORESTS REFORM ACT OF 2002
WHEREAS, decades of poor forest management has resulted in dangerously high fuel
loads, unnaturally dense forests, and severe fire danger on National Forests in Colorado and
across the country; and
WHEREAS, cumbersome federal laws, regulations, and frivolous litigation have
contributed to a climate of process gridlock, thwarting attempts by federal land managers, local
governments, and others to address the growing fire threat posed by these worsening forest
conditions; and
WHEREAS, according to the General Accounting Qffice, this chronic lack of active
management has left one in three acres in our National Forest either dead or dying; and
WHEREAS, over 50,000 fires have burned more that 6,000,000 acres nationally - or
more than 9,000 square miles -and more than one-half million acres have burned in the State of
Colorado alone; and
WHEREAS, these losses total more than three times the ten year average, underscoring
the need for a more active and comprehensive approach to federal forest management to return
these areas to a more ecologically sustainable condition; and
WHEREAS, without treatment, some 75 million acres of National Forest land - an area
geographically larger than the entire State of Colorado -remain at extreme risk to catastrophic
wildfire; and
WHEREAS, 7 million acres in Colorado alone are highly susceptible to such fires; and
WHEREAS, Eagle County supports the concept of appropriate and expedited
environmental review.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS OF THE COUNTY OF EAGLE, STATE OF COLORADO:
• •
THAT, Eagle County encourages members of the Colorado Congressional Delegation to
support common sense forest management efforts based on sound science and with an emphasis
on preserving water quality, water quantity, protecting municipal watersheds, reducing hazardous
fuels, addressing insect infestations, and protecting homes, businesses, and communities from the
threat of wildfire including the delivery of responsible education.
THAT, Eagle County encourages members of the Colorado Congressional Delegation to
support the principles advocated by President Bush in his Healthy Forests Initiative, and
embodied by the comprehensive management and procedural reforms included in the Healthy
Forests Reform Act, H.R. 5319, introduced by Representative Scott McInnis.
THAT, Eagle County applauds the inclusion of Stewardship Contracting Authority for all
federal lands in H.R. 5319.
MOVED, READ AND ADOPTED by the Board of County Commissioners of the
County of Eagle, State of Colorado, at its regular meeting held the day of September,
2002.
ATTEST:
Clerk to the Board"of
County Commissioners
COUNTY OF EAGLE, STATE OF
COLOR'.ADO, By and Through Its
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
®~ `oG
By:
~ o~ Michael .Gallagher
~~®aP® Chairman
Arn M. Menconi
Commissioner
Tom tone
Commissioner
• •
Commissioner seconded adoption of the foregoing resolution.
The roll having been called, a vote was as follows:
Commissioner Tom C. Stone
Commissioner Arn M. Menconi
Commissioner Michael L. Gallagher
This resolution passed by o? - O vote of the Board of County Commissioners of
the County of Eagle, State of Colorado.