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Feb. 7, 2017
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
It’s exciting when people from home come here to visit – and more exciting
when they come to share important information with my Senate colleagues. The
Natural Resources and Parks Committee will devote most of this Thursday’s committee
meeting to the subject of wildfire, and folks from our part of the state will
be front and center in the discussions.
The Olympia area picked up about six inches of snow between Sunday and
Monday mornings. That’s a good-sized snowfall for anywhere close to Puget Sound,
but I am more interested in the Cascade snowpack. A look at the latest “snow
water equivalent” report from the federal government shows our part of the
state, which is in the Central Columbia and Upper Columbia zones, is right
around the 30-year norm (click here
for yesterday’s update). Such a healthy snowpack can only help reduce the risk
of wildfires this summer. We can’t control the weather, however, which is why this
week’s wildfire discussion and continued efforts to update wildfire policy are
so important. I’m really looking forward to this opportunity for local experts
and officials to have their voices heard.
Hearing on ‘megafire’-inspired
bill will
follow wildfire work session Thursday afternoon
The massive fires that hit our area so hard in 2014 and 2015 generated a
community conversation. What can be done to identify and treat areas that are
at particular risk of becoming the site of the next megafire?
Representatives of the Wenatchee-based Wildfire Project have
done valuable work concerning what they describe as the era of the megafire, “the
crisis everybody in the West should be talking about.” I’m thankful that the
Chair of the Natural Resources and Parks Committee agreed to invite them to
come and talk about it during a work session beginning at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Work
sessions allow committees to learn more about a particular issue without
limiting the conversation to the merits of a specific piece of legislation, and
the wildfire situation is an ideal subject.
After the work session, the committee will convene a public
hearing on the wildfire legislation I recently introduced. Senate Bill 5546 would direct the state
Department of Natural Resources, the agency in charge of public lands, to begin
assessing the health of state-owned forests and come up with a 16-year treatment
plan that could include prescribed fire and thinning.
SB 5546 is inspired by things I’ve learned by attending the
Era of MegaFires presentations, produced by the Wildfire Project, and my
discussions with other stakeholders, including DNR, the Nature Conservancy, private
landowners, and others. It has a very good chance of moving forward, seeing
that four of the five members of our committee are sponsors.
This link
should allow you to view the work session and bill hearing on TVW when it
begins.
Thank you for the opportunity to
serve you!
It is my great privilege to serve as your state senator. If you have any
questions or comments, please contact my office anytime using the information
below. If you are planning a trip to Olympia and would like to visit the
Capitol Building, I would be happy to connect with you or your group when you
are here.
I encourage you to share this newsletter with friends and family; they may subscribe using the information below my contact information. Thank you for allowing me to represent you in Olympia!
Sincerely,
Brad Hawkins
State Senator
Brad Hawkins
12th Legislative District
E-mail:
brad.hawkins@leg.wa.gov
Website: senatorbradhawkins.org
107 Newhouse Building
- P.O. Box 40412 | Olympia, WA 98504-0412
(360) 786-7622 or Toll-free: (800) 562-6000
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