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May 29, 2007
Mr. Mark Rey
Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment U.S. Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, DC 20250
Dear Mr. Rey:
We are writing to follow up on our May 25th letter inquiring about the status of a promised “long-term plan” regarding the safety and availability of the air tanker fleet in responding to fires this season.
We understand that your office may be working on a response to our letter. In the meantime, we are writing again because in news reports regarding our letter and this issue, we note that Mr. Joe Walsh, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, is paraphrased as saying that “a study of the system [the air tanker fleet readiness] won’t be finished for months, at the earliest.”
If Mr. Walsh’s comments are accurate, we are very concerned. As the fire threat remains extreme, especially due to the impacts of drought and insect epidemic that we are seeing here in Colorado and throughout the West, it is essential that we have the resources we need and that those resources are safe and effective.
Given that, we would respectfully urge that the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Forest Service make the completion and implementation of this long-term plan one of its top priorities. We understand that there are many pressing issues demanding the agency’s time, resources and attention. However, given that fires directly threaten people, property and watersheds—not to mention the safety of the firefighters and other responders—this issue demands a heightened level of attention and responsiveness.
Please give this issue the consideration it deserves.
Sincerely,
Mark Udall John Salazar
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