A top-ranking Interior Department official was in Boise this week to announce nearly $140 millionin newly funded wildfire projects.
Laura Daniel-Davis, the acting deputy secretary of the Interior Department, summarized the sort of projects that were recently selected for funding from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“This new and additional funding will support the modernization of wildland firefighter training, help reduce the risk of extreme wildfires, rehabilitate those burned areas, and advance fire science,” she said.
The infrastructure law earmarked some $1.5 billion for the Department of Interior to support wildland firefighters and help communities prepare for wildfires. Prior to Tuesday’s announcement, some $650 million had already been allocated for Interior projects.
Daniel-Davis cited several specific projects included in the most recent round. They include the restoration of areas in southwest Idaho that were heavily impacted by a series of wildfires set off by a September 2022 lighting storm. The fires destroyed a number of shrub species that elk and deer depend on in the winter months, and federal dollars will support the replanting of native species and eradicating invasive species.
An agency spokesperson said that Interior bureaus are working to identify specific projects to be funded, and they’ll be announced in coming months.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.