|
The Healthy Forest Initiative is being touted as a win-win that helps to restore Arizona’s forests, prevent wildfires and give prisoners a second chance at life.
Gov. Doug Ducey in March of last year signed SB1442, which aims to provide more job opportunities for prisoners by allowing them to clear forests of fuels. Then HB2001, which provides $25 million to hire more than 700 inmates, was signed into law last June. This initiative expands on the partnership between the Department of Forestry and Fire Management and the Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry.
The bills received bipartisan support in both chambers. SB1442 passed 59-0 in the House and 27-3 in the Senate, while SB2001 passed 59-1 in the House and 27-3 in the Senate. They come into effect at a critical time for a state with a unique climate. Arizona lost more than 500,000 acres to wildfires last year and more than 900,000 acres in 2020, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
State Sen. Sine Kerr, R-Buckeye, who sponsored SB1442, said: “Saving livelihoods by working to prevent disastrous wildfires should be a non-partisan issue, and I’m thankful my colleagues on both sides of the aisle agreed. This bill also allows for the expansion of partnerships between state, federal and private lands, because it takes a team effort to make a difference when time is of the essence.”
Before becoming eligible for employment for the Healthy Forest Initiative or other jobs that the state offers, prisoners must first pass a thorough vetting from the Department of Corrections to ensure that they are trustworthy.
To be eligible for these jobs, the prisoners must be serving a sentence in minimum custody and qualify for Level 1 or 2 work supervision, according to the ADDCR media team. They also must not have escape or arson convictions and their sentence structures must allow them to be available throughout fire season.
Once prisoners are vetted, the Department of Corrections will try to recruit them to join the program. If a prisoner volunteers, then the Department of Corrections will add them to a list of recruits that is sent to the Department of Forestry and Fire Management.
Many of these prisoners come into the program with little to no experience in fire prevention. They begin a series of courses and training under guidelines set by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. This includes refresher courses every year and an annual work capacity test that involves completing a three-mile hike with a 45-pound vest attached to them in under 45 minutes, said Tiffany Davila, the forestry department’s public affairs officer.
Prisoners who complete the training then start removing potential fuels across the state. The types of fuel that they remove often vary depending on the forest. Projects in northern Arizona may include removing timber while projects in southern Arizona may include removing brush. Projects at higher elevations could require getting rid of tall diseased trees while those at a lower elevation could necessitate clearing away tamarisk.
“It’s not only about wildfire risk reduction, but it’s about protecting communities,” Davila said. “It’s about protecting our watershed, our wildlife, creating healthier forests. If you have a forest that’s choked up by vegetation and choked about by timber, how is anything else going to grow in there?”
The working relationship between the corrections and forestry departments is nothing new to Arizona. Their cooperation began with the creation of the Wildland Fire Crews in Safford/ Ft. Grant and Perryville in 1984. Arizona already has employed prisoners to extinguish fires and clear dangerous fuels, as well as solely to remove dangerous fuels.
The Healthy Forest Initiative is significant because it calls for a major increase in the number of prisoners hired to remove fuels. Before it was signed, the forestry department had employed 260 personnel whose jobs included working on fuels and fire suppression. The goal is to have more than 700 prisoners employed over two years.
Prisoners who clear fuels are paid $1 per hour, while those who also fight fires are paid $1.50 per hour. Many of the prisoners use the skills that they learn to earn full-time jobs after they are released from prison, either with the forest service, forestry department, or local fire departments. Some earn managerial positions, including as crew captains and fire management officers.
“These programs offer the inmate real-world certifications and work experience making them very employable upon release and contribute to a reduction in recidivism,” according to corrections department media relations. “Some of the larger and most recent projects we have collaborated on are the creation of the Phoenix Fire Crew, which is comprised of former offenders and the Healthy Forest Initiative Forestry Crews.”
Ducey said the first 100 participants graduated from the Healthy Forest Initiative training program in March and have begun removing fuels. At least 10,000 acres have already been treated this year. The initiative’s goal is to increase the number of acres treated from 4,000 to 20,000 annually, according to a March forestry department report.
Despite these strides, Arizona wildfire season is still a threat and could be unpredictable. Ducey and fire officials warned that this season could be even more catastrophic than previous years.
Davila of the forestry department said there is “always a need for more manpower.”
Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa, a co-sponsor of HB2001, is willing to consider expanding inmate labor in the future.
“I do know that wildfires and their administration are not just done on a first come first serve basis,” Bowers said. “It depends on where it is and whose property it’s under or under the management of.”
He also noted significant risks come with using prisoner labor to combat wildfires – something that he said must be considered if lawmakers want to expand the number of prisoners combating wildfires.
“We’ve also had some tragedies with inmate labor in the past in forest fires,” Bowers said. “So I know it’s not something willy nilly; it has to be done with caution.”
|
