THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, all; please be seated. Thanks a lot. Good
morning. Thanks for welcoming me to this beautiful part of the world
that has been scarred by nature. Senator McCain and I drove up the hill
and he was saying, you know, this part of Arizona is a lot prettier
than anywhere in Texas. (Laughter.) I didn't believe it at first.
(Laughter.) But it is beautiful. And all of us are sorry that fire has
devastated life in the countryside here.
I want to thank the people of Summerhaven for allowing us to come
up to visit your beautiful part of the world. You know, any time a
community has been devastated like Summerhaven has been devastated, you
can determine the character of the people -- and the character of the
people of Summerhaven and this part of Arizona have been tested, and
you've met the test and our nation admires your courage and strength.
Too many communities like this have known too many hardships that
fire causes. We've got a problem in the country, a problem which has
built up over decades; and a problem we better fix before more people
go through the grief the people of Summerhaven have gone through, or
the people that were affected by the Rodeo fires in northern Arizona.
See, our job as policy people and members of Congress, have got to
fix problems when we see them -- they don't ignore problems, they don't
hope the problems go away. We come up with common sense solutions to
the problems that affect the daily lives of our citizens. And that's
what we're here to talk about today.
One of the people I've tasked with coming up with solutions to the
problems we face is Secretary Ann Veneman. She's done a fabulous job on
behalf of the people of the United States. She is a common sense
purpose -- person. She asks the practical questions about how do we
solve problems in America. She's also done a fine job of running the
Forest Service. And I appreciate Dale Bosworth being here, he's the
Chief of the Forest Service, and thank you for coming, Chief, I
appreciate your common sense policy.
And I want to thank all the Forest Service employees, not only here
in this part of Arizona, but all across the country, for your
dedication and service. Thank you, sir. (Applause.)
I appreciate Big Dan being with us. He is a fire fighter's fire
fighter. (Applause.) The Senator and I and Madam Secretary had a
chance to hear him talk about the courage and valor of the fire
fighters in this part of the state of Arizona, as well as the others he
commands. He and his partner, Larry, who I met last year, are just
solid commanders; they're guys who set the course, set the strategy and
encourage the people to get after it.
And, Dan, I want to thank you for your service to our country, as
well. I'm honored that you've given us a tour, I appreciate your
service. I'm glad Ron called you into action -- sad you had to come,
but he called you into action because you're the best at what you do,
and that's great for our country that you are. Thank you and your wife
for your service to America. (Applause.)
Ron, I want to thank you for your hospitality and I want to thank
all the good folks who work here in this park, in this park area for
working hard to make sure the environment is safe and sound and secure,
and that this park remains a beautiful part of the country.
I want to thank John McCain for being with us. He's a common sense
conservative who understands that we can do a better job of managing
our national resources. I also want to thank Ben Nighthorse Campbell,
who is over from the great state of Colorado. Colorado has also faced a
lot of fire, too many fires. And he understands we need better policy.
Jim Kolbe is with us today, he's the congressman from this area. I
asked the county commissioner here, I said, has the response been good?
His first, right off, he said: McCain and Kolbe have been incredibly
responsive to the people of this part of the world and I want to -- and
Kyl, he didn't show up, so he doesn't get any credit. (Laughter.) Kyl
is a good man, he deserves credit.
But I do want to thank the senators and the member of Congress for
responding so quickly to the needs of the people here. I also want to
thank other members of the congressional delegation from Arizona: Jeff
Flake and Trent Franks, Big J.D. Hayworth and Rick Renzi. All fine
members of the United States Congress, all represent their state and
their district with distinction and class, and I want to thank you all
for joining us on this event.
I appreciate Janice Brewer, the Secretary of State of the great
state of Arizona for being here; all the members of the legislature and
the state Senate are here; the county commissioner; our fellow
citizens. Thank you for coming by to give us a chance to say hello.
I particularly want to thank the "hot shot" fire crews, the men and
women who wear yellow, the people who put their lives on the line,
those who respond to emergencies. The forest fire crews have been put
to incredible tests recently. A lot of it has to do with failed policy,
backward policy when it comes to maintaining the health of our
forests.
Last year alone, it's important for our fellow citizens all across
America to know, that catastrophic wild fires burned about 7 million
acres of land. And in trying to protect the natural resources and the
people affected by those fires, we lost 23 fire fighters, men and women
who served our country with distinction. Our nation is grateful for
those who are willing to take risk on somebody else's behalf, and we
extend our deepest sympathies to the loved ones who still mourn the
lives of those which were lost.
Last month, the people of this beautiful part of America saw the
devastating effects of the Aspen fire, which consumed over 85,000
acres. It destroyed hundreds of homes and buildings. We flew over
Summerhaven. We saw the devastation. We saw the effects of a fire run
wild, not only on the hillsides, but also in the communities, burnt
buildings, lives turned upside down because of the destruction of
fire.
We also were able to see -- I was able to hear the fact that our
government responded quickly, and that's important. In June, shortly
after the fire began, FEMA issued a fire management assistance grant,
granting millions of aid to the state of Arizona to cover a significant
portion of the fire fighting costs. That is a legitimate role of the
federal government. And I will remind the House of Representatives and
members of the Senate that we have an obligation to help people fight
fires in America.
The disaster declaration I signed authorized federal assistance to
the state and Pima County for rebuilding public infrastructure and
facilities. The SBA is providing low interest loans to help small
business people in Summerhaven get their feet back on the ground and
get the businesses started again. The Forest Service is putting down
seed and hay to prevent soil erosion. We got to see some of the
project, the hay project, on the hill right over there, right behind
us.
The federal government has acted and we need to act, but there's
more we can do with good, sound policy. That's what we need to do at
the federal level. The University of Arizona Steward Observatory and
the surrounding trees on Mount Lemmon are still standing today because
of good, sound forest management practices. They didn't have fires in
the area because there wasn't enough fuel to burn through the area,
like it happened here. There are campgrounds still intact, campgrounds
used by church groups and scout troops which exist today because of
good forest management.
Forest thinning projects make a significant difference about
whether or not wildfires will destroy a lot of property. We need to
thin our forests in America. (Applause.)
Our citizens must understand there millions of acres of forest
around this country that are vulnerable to catastrophic fire because of
brush and small trees that have been collecting for decades. Senator
McCain reminded me that it's taken decades for this problem to develop.
And, therefore, it's going to take a while to solve the problem, and we
better get after it now with good, sound forest management practice.
(Applause.)
It's important for people who don't know anything about forests and
forest fires to understand that overgrowth chokes off nutrients from
older and taller trees. It provides breeding grounds for insects and
disease, which weaken our forests and make them more susceptible to
fire. The kindling can turn small fires into large, raging fires that
burn with such intensity that the trees literally explode. The
devastation of a fire destroys not only trees, but wildlife and its
habitat; it causes flooding and soil erosion; it can ruin water
supplies. Catastrophic fires burn so hot that it is incredibly hard to
put them out. The kindling on the ground, the decades of neglect, the
decades of failed policy have meant that our forest fires are
incredibly hot, incredibly catastrophic. If you don't believe me, ask
people like Dan, who make a living fighting these fires.
And so we've listened to the people who are the front line of
making sure our forests are preserved and healthy. See, we listen to
them because we have an obligation in America to preserve our forests.
Our forests are treasures that must be preserved for future
generations. It's important that we have good, sound forest policy. And
the best way to do so is to listen to the experts, who understand that
by thinning out our forests, we risk -- we reduce the risk of
catastrophic fire; that we can and we should have good, sound forest
management policy all across the United States of America. (Applause.)
And that's why I outlined what I called a Healthy Forest
Initiative. The forest policies of the past operated to discourage
efforts to thin forests. And, unfortunately, well meaning people
proposed -- put policy in place that made the health of the forests at
risk, not better off.
And so the initiative said we're going to take a new approach. I
called upon Ann and the Secretary of Interior and the Chairman of the
Council on Environmental Quality to cut through bureaucratic red tape
so that we can get urgently needed thinning projects moving. See, when
you hear, red tape, that means there's a lot of rules and regulations
that generally are in place to prevent something from happening. And
our job is to slice through the red tape to get thinning projects
moving forward.
We're speeding up the process of environmental assessment and
consultations required now by current law, while considering both the
health of the forest and our obligation to protect endangered species.
We're expediting the administrative appeals process, so that disputes
over projects are resolved quickly. In other words, not everybody
agrees with thinning, there will be objections. But we want those
objections heard, of course -- every citizen needs to hear a voice --
but we want the process to work quickly so we can get on about the
business of saving our forests.
We believe in bringing people together to try to reach agreement on
forest projects. We believe all voices should be heard. But we want to
expedite the process to avoid the legal wrangling and the delays that
take place in our courts. Delays in our courts prevent us from doing
the job necessary to maintain healthy forests.
We're working with the western governors, most of -- a lot of the
problems exist in -- out west, and we understand that. This is a place
for good, sound policy to take place -- out west, on the federal lands.
Above all, we will continue to rely upon the informed judgment of the
forest professionals and those who fight the fires.
Any skeptic about what I'm talking about ought to come and talk to
the people who know what they're talking about, who make a living
fighting fires, who understand the devastation that is caused by
backward forest policy. Every forest will be treated according to its
unique circumstances. Federal policy must be flexible to be able to
deal with the problems in each particular part of our country.
Saving millions of acres of forest through better management will
require a lot of hard work in a lot of states. And, interestingly
enough, will not only save our forests, but will create jobs. You see,
not all the work of thinning will be done by government. In order to
meet some of the goals we've proposed, we have to rely upon local
contractors who will clear away and be able to sell smaller trees, the
trees that provide the kindling. And this way the work of thinning
overgrown forests improves public safety, will save taxpayer's money
and will help local economies. (Applause.)
This initiative that I outlined, the Healthy Forest Initiative, is
producing results. Last year we treated two-and-a-quarter million acres
of overgrown forests. That's a million acres more than were treated in
the year 2000, and that's good. By the end of the fiscal year in
September, we will have treated more than 2.6 million acres of forest
and range land, and that's important. In Arizona, we're treating
224,000 acres this year, about twice as many acres as were treated in
2001.
We're making progress, but current law makes it very difficult to
expedite the thinning of forests. Laws on the books make it very
difficult for us to set priorities, to listen to those who manage our
forests and fight the fires, and to get after the thinning that is
necessary to prevent catastrophic fires from occurring in the first
place.
All too often, the litigation process delays forest projects for
years and years, and that's a reality. Our forests remain unprotected,
our communities are vulnerable. So I asked Congress to reform the
review process for forest projects. The Healthy Forest Restoration Act
now pending in Congress will do just that. It directs courts to
consider long term threats to forest health that could result if
thinning projects are delayed. In other words, it says to the courts,
the health of our forests is a national goal. It makes forest health
the priority when it comes to the courts resolving disputes.
It places reasonable time limits on the litigation process, after
the public has had an opportunity to comment and a decision has been
made. For the sake of our forests, the Congress must act. The House of
Representatives has passed a bill which includes these reforms, and I
want to thank the members from the great state of Arizona for their
leadership. A bill -- such a bill has passed the Senate Agriculture
Committee. And now it's time for us in the administration, and for
members in the Senate who agree with this policy to reach across the
partisan divide and get a good bill out of the United States Senate.
The issue I speak about is not a political issue. It's not a
partisan issue. This is an American issue that requires consensus to do
what is smart and right about preserving and protecting our national
forests. I look forward to working with members of both parties to get
a good bill out of the United States Senate. (Applause.)
Within sight of where we stand are the results of wise forest
policy and the ruins of unwise forest policy. For those who live here,
it's the difference between lives surrounded by natural beauty and
lives disrupted by natural disaster. We can serve the interest of this
country by working together, by listening to people who know what
they're talking about and putting together common sense policy to
preserve our forests, to make them healthy, so that when we step back
after our time and service people will say, job well done. (Applause.)
Thanks for coming. May God bless those who suffer, may God bless
those who serve our country and may God continue to bless America.
(Applause.)