ORIGIN OF RESOLUTION:
Council of Western State Foresters

ISSUE OF CONCERN:
Use and Allocation of Potential Increases to the State Fire Assistance Budget

BACKGROUND:
NASF recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2001 budget include substantial increases in State Fire Assistance (SFA). Recent US Forest Service reviews/reports have established that building overall capacity in the national wildland fire suppression infrastructure is a significant issue. The rising costs of wildland fire management continues to be a major issue. Potential SFA budget increases should factor in building an overall response capacity,

RESOLUTION:
The National Association of State Foresters recommends that any increase in State Fire Assistance be distributed annually as follows: 1. The base level of funding be adjusted for inflation, 2. Anamount be allocated through competitive grants to fund high risk and high need projects (to includeWUI), and 3. With any remaining balance to be distributed to each state for the purpose of building capacity for wildland fire suppression based on the state allocation formula.

NASF ACTION:
(X) Approved

DATE OF ACTION: October 4, 2000