Renewed commitment to state's wildfire response urged

Apr. 22—Members of the Oregon Congressional delegation are calling for a renewed long-term commitment to the Western Oregon Operating Plan (WOOP).

Set to expire June 30 of this year, the WOOP serves as the agreement that governs fire response for BLM, the Oregon Department of Forestry, and Forest Protective Associations all over western Oregon.

Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Val Hoyle today led U.S. Senator Ron Wyden and U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonamici, Andrea Salinas, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and Cliff Bentz made the request in a letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Tracy Stone-Manning

"As you know, the checkerboard ownership pattern of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) forest lands in western Oregon is unique and creates approximately 14,000 miles of jurisdictional boundaries between federal, tribal, state, county, and private timberlands," the lawmakers wrote. "The complexity of managing fires throughout this area led to agreements to provide protection by the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) and non-profit Forest Protective Associations (FPAs) dating back to at least 1914."

"This arrangement has been a model of success and continues to this day as the Western Oregon Operating Plan (WOOP) agreement," they said. "The current iteration of the WOOP is set to expire on June 30, 2024, and BLM, ODF, and the FPAs had been working to secure another agreement to continue their coordination and preparedness. The Fiscal Year 2024 Interior Appropriations bill provides clear direction to BLM to develop a new agreement that 'maintains or enhances the current level of fire protection for western Oregon forestlands through the Western Oregon Operating Plan agreement.'"

Merkley serves as Chair of the U.S. Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee and has direct oversight of the U.S. Department of the Interior's budget, which includes BLM. He has secured federal resources for wildfire management and ensured language directing BLM to maintain or enhance the level of protection covered through the WOOP was included in government funding legislation for Fiscal Year 2024.

The Letter

Secretary Haaland and Director Stone-Manning:

We write to urge you to renew the interagency agreement that underpins the Department of Interior's commitment to the Western Oregon Operation Plan (WOOP), the century-old, effective fire management system in western Oregon, for another five-year term.

As you know, the checkerboard ownership pattern of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) forest lands in western Oregon is unique and creates approximately 14,000 miles of jurisdictional boundaries between federal, tribal, state, county, and private timberlands. The complexity of managing fires throughout this area led to agreements to provide protection by the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) and non-profit Forest Protective Associations (FPAs) dating back to at least 1914.

This arrangement has been a model of success and continues to this day as the Western Oregon Operating Plan (WOOP) agreement. The current iteration of the WOOP is set to expire on June 30, 2024, and BLM, ODF, and the FPAs had been working to secure another agreement to continue their coordination and preparedness. The Fiscal Year 2024 Interior Appropriations bill provides clear direction to BLM to develop a new agreement that "maintains or enhances the current level of fire protection for western Oregon forestlands through the Western Oregon Operating Plan agreement."

As our communities continue to deal with the impacts of fire seasons that are coming earlier, and fires that are burning more frequently and with catastrophic intensity, it is imperative that a new agreement provide a significant level of long-term stability for communities throughout western Oregon.

These communities require reliable and consistent plans to carry out crucial long-term planning and operational tasks that will better prepare them for wildfire risks in the future. We previously applauded the Department's emphasis on interagency cooperation as part of its five- year Wildland Fire Strategy and believe that anything short of a full five-year extension will fail to meet the Department's own strategy and the needs of the communities in western Oregon that are nestled within some of the highest risk firesheds in the country.

We thank you both for your attention to this matter and urge your teams to continue working with all interested parties to ensure communities in Western Oregon continue to have the tools they need to successfully address wildfire protection.

The 2023 Oregon fire season officially began in all areas of the state by July 1, As of September 5, 2023, the state had recorded 1,731 fires, which had burned a total of 159,991 acres, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry.