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Arizona will receive over $10 million from the 2021 infrastructure law to reduce the risk of wildfires on nearly 10,000 acres of land across the state, the Interior Department announced Monday. The funds will support wildfire fuel treatments, post-fire restoration, and wildfire science. The funds are part of $103 million allocated in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to reduce wildfire risk, mitigate impacts, and rehabilitate burned areas. Nationwide, the law will fund wildfire mitigation projects across over two million acres of public land.
The funds will also provide support for physical and mental health resources for federal firefighters and will go towards developing a wildfire risk mapping and mitigation tool.
Deputy Interior Secretary Tommy Beaudreau announced the investment at Saguaro National Park, where some of this funding is going towards a buffelgrass fuels reduction project, a long-term project to remove the non-native grass and restore the land with native, fire-resistant species. Buffelgrass ignites easily and has fueled major wildfires in Arizona, including the Bighorn Fire in 2020 that burned 119,987 acres.
On top of treatments like prescribed burns, removing invasive and fire-prone species is a critical part of fire mitigation. Saguaro National Park superintendent Leah McGinnis says about three to five years of treatment are required in an area in order to eradicate buffelgrass, and volunteers give 2,000 hours annually to removal efforts at the park. The additional investment from Interior will help fund aerial spray treatments as well as manual pulling.
“As climate change drives harsher heat waves, more volatile weather, and record drought conditions, we are seeing wildfire seasons turn to wildfire years, threatening communities, businesses, wildlife, and the environment,” Beaudreau said in a press release. "We are investing in Arizona communities, advancing wildfire resilience work across the country, improving resources for the heroic firefighting workforce, and reducing the risk of wildfire.”
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We’ve been doing this for generations, as the remnants of our sacred irrigation systems located in the conservation areas have shown. We have solutions that protect the land and address the impacts of climate on our environments.”
