Jeff Bingaman: “let my compliment my colleague on his statement and also our colleague from Montana. This is a very serious issue, one…”

“let my compliment my colleague on his statement and also our colleague from Montana. This is a very serious issue, one we have had many hearings on, one very recently. The problem is just as Senator Domenici described it. We have sort of an annual event. Annually, we find out we haven't put enough money in these appropriations bills to fight fires. Accordingly, the agencies involved, in particular the Forest Service, understandably have to go somewhere to get that money. They go into these other accounts. These are the funds they should be using to do the forest thinning and forest health and restoration work we all know is essential. Last Saturday, I went up to Taos in our home State to see the damage that was done in the Taos pueblo by the Encebado fire. That was a very substantial fire, burning close to 6,000 acres of land, right behind the Taos pueblo. We got a helicopter tour with the Governor and the war chief and the BIA officials and others to survey all the damage that had been done. On our way back after we had surveyed the damage, which was extensive, we flew down what is called Lucero Canyon. That area was one that the Governor and the war chief pointed out and said: This is an area which is greatly overgrown and which we need to thin. We very much would like to get some Federal funds to help with this thinning activity because our next forest fire we fear is going to be in this canyon. It is also part of the Taos pueblo land.”