Oregonโs U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden said Monday they have joined fellow Western senators to urge Congress to pass additional funding to support wildfire recovery on federal lands. In a letter toย Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-ME)ย andย Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), the Senators pressed for additional resources to help National Parks, National Forests, and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands recover from this yearโs devastating wildfires.
Since damage to federal lands is not covered by FEMA funding, federal land agencies are responsible for cleanup and restoration on their own, the senators said in a news release. The letter was led by U.S. Senatorsย Ruben Gallego (D-AZ)ย and Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and in addition to Merkley and Wyden, signed byย Senatorsย Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV).
โWe write to request that any emergency disaster appropriations bills drafted this year include funding for wildfire recovery on federal lands,โย the Senators wrote.ย โRepairing wildfire damages to National Parks, National Forests, and Bureau of Land Management Lands is vital for the safety and economies of the entire country.
