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SPONSOR: |
Tripp |
DATE TYPED: |
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HB |
910/aSCONC |
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SHORT TITLE: |
Watershed Restoration |
SB |
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ANALYST: |
Valenzuela |
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APPROPRIATION
Appropriation
Contained |
Estimated
Additional Impact |
Recurring or
Non-Rec |
Fund Affected |
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FY03 |
FY04 |
FY03 |
FY04 |
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NFI |
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(Parenthesis
( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Department of Game and Fish (DGF)
Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources
Department (EMNRD)
Department of Environment (NMED)
SUMMARY
The
Senate Conservation Committee (SCONC) amendment to House Bill 910 adds language
to include stakeholder groups in the development of the comprehensive strategy.
The current bill focuses primarily on governmental agencies. The change would
include private and non-profit sectors.
Synopsis
of Original Bill
House Bill 910 would
require the EMNRD Secretary to develop a statewide watershed restoration strategy
to reestablish the natural ecology of watersheds throughout
Significant
Issues
Though the focus of this bill is watershed
restoration, the bill recognizes the interrelation of numerous entities and
issues involved in this important policy issue. The focus of this strategy is
on restoring ecosystems that evolved with frequently occurring, low intensity
fires. These fires typically occurred at intervals of between 1 to 35 years and
served to reduce growth of brush and other understory vegetation while
generally leaving larger, older trees intact.
Fire suppression activities and past forest
management practices over the past 100 years have excluded fire from many of
these fire-adapted ecosystems. In absence
of fire, many of these lands have become subject to an over-accumulation of
shrubs and small trees, diminishing ecosystem diversity, health, and resiliency
and fueling conditions for unnaturally intense fires that threaten communities,
air, soil, water quality, and plant and animal species.
The bill would require EMNRD to provide incentives to private businesses to develop capabilities in forest thinning and woody vegetation removal from watersheds (e.g., forested, mountainous lands, riparian areas). Several state and federal agencies have contracted with private companies to improve and clean up watersheds. The cost, roughly $750 to $1,500 per acre treated, tend to be prohibitive. Therefore, much effort has been devoted to finding economic value in the biomass materials removed. One such initiative, led by the Forestry Division and federally funded, is called the Four Corners Sustainable Forests Project. It is designed to develop practices, technologies and technical assistance that support sustainable community-based enterprises capable of using small diameter trees harvested from forest restoration and fire mitigation projects. But, to date, markets for small diameter lumber have not grown to a level to support harvest of such material. Small diameter material, however, may become more economically feasible if assessments for its use more comprehensively evaluate tradeoffs and risks to watershed and species values, public health and safety, and other factors that may benefit from reducing fuels in fire-adapted ecosystems, such as reduced fire suppression costs.
As mentioned, the understory biomass has little
to no value; disposing of it is a key concern for forest improvement projects.
The bill seeks to better understand what value can be created from this biomass
material. In related bills, Senate Bill 769 appropriates $300.0 from the
general fund to EMNRD to assess the feasibility of using biomass for electricity
production. House Bill 146 proposes an energy production incentive of 1 cent
per kWh for biomass projects that produce electricity.
The Inmate Work Camp program was established in
1997 within EMNRD’s Forestry Division. The program provides a work force to
help improve forest health and the safety of citizens living in and near
forested lands. Project work is
conducted only on public lands. IWC was
developed through the combined efforts of the Corrections Department (DOC) and
the Forestry Division. Projects are
conducted from two field locations: one in Los Lunas and a new unit in
Grants. The Los Lunas program employs 13
full-time employees to manage eight minimum security inmate crews. The Grants IWC fields two crews consisting of
female inmates. Since its inception, EMNRD reports the IWC crews have conducted
171 natural resource projects for 24 different operators, treated
73.8 miles of fuel breaks near homes located in the forest, responded to 54
wildfires, improved 8,049 acres of wildlife habitat, reduced tree overcrowding
through thinning on 8,423 acres, conducted 12 wildfire rehabilitation projects
on 1,907 acres, provided support on prescribed fire projects for 3,473 acres,
and planted 17,245 trees.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
House Bill 910 does not contain an
appropriation. The bill requires a level of effort on behalf of EMNRD which can
be absorbed by the agency.
A comprehensive watershed strategy could have
positive fiscal implications for current state agency efforts related to
watershed improvements. Several state agencies use some portion of its budget
or receive federal funds to complete projects that benefit watersheds. For
instance, the Department of Environment receives approximately $2 million every
year through the federal Clean Water Act Section 319 (H) non-point source
pollution program. The LFC, as well as other interim legislative committees,
have received testimony about better aligning these funds to generate more
federal funds.
A strategy that includes a focus on sharing or
maximizing resources could improve state efforts. Currently, it is does not
appear that collaboration among state agencies has been always been considered.
The Forestry Division 20-community strategy, however, now encourages state agencies
to consider complementary projects.
MFV/njw:yr