On January 29th, WPEA members from the Department of Natural Resources came down to Olympia for wildland fire funding lobby day. Our members advocated to restore wildland fire and community resilience funding, in coalition with a broad spectrum of organizations – from environmental advocates to insurance companies to forest products associations. “Being part of the coalition was a great experience, to see how pass-through funds are used, and how other entities also work with the program to further benefit their communities” said Tara Wilson, WPEA steward in DNR’s aquatics division, who also works in fire communications.
Background
In 2021, HB 1168 guaranteed a $500 million dollar investment in wildland fire suppression over eight years (2021-2029), aimed at preventing the amount of severe wildfires that start and burn in Washington. This is done through several different investments across the state; forest health treatments, wildfire response and preparedness activities, and community resilience measures.
“The investment made by 1168 has been transformative for the agency,” said Brady Dier, a DNR forester, WPEA steward, and wildland fire fighter.
The combination of these treatments and support has proven to be an effective investment for the state, with every $1 invested resulting in a savings of about $8 to the state. This funding is “a giving tree that keeps on giving,” says Tara.
Members Deliver the Message
For the lobby day, WPEA had 18(!) separate meetings with lawmakers, staff, budget writers, and legislative leadership from both parties to advocate for the restoration of $60 million to support fire suppression and forest health.
Pictured: Front row, L-R: Devin Crane, Brady Dier, Austin Lyman.
Back row, lL-R: Zachary Decker, Chris Scelsa, Tara Wilson
Our members’ first-hand experience with fire made them stand out among the normal sea of lobbyists at the capitol. “The lobbyists in the room were very professional and poised, and delivered their talking points effectively. But when I started talking about my direct experience, he focused in a new way,” said Brady of one meeting with a Senate budget writer. “His posture changed and he started to lean into what I was saying, instead of leaning back like it was part of some routine conversation he’d had before and would have again.”
We cannot afford to lose momentum. The initial $60 million cut made in the 2025 legislative session will reverse hard-won progress by stalling efforts by the DNR and cut grants to small communities. Fire has a cost no matter what – whether the state decides to pay now to reduce risk, or pay the much higher cost of severely burning, prolonged fire.
Despite all this, fire funding continues to be an uphill battle, given the state’s challenging budget situation, so WPEA is supporting multiple pieces of legislation that would help restore DNR funding. We’ll see if the House and Senate really got the message, when their budgets are released, in roughly two weeks. For now, though, we know the lobby day was successful in one way: when members were asked if they would come back to do more advocacy, the answer was a unanimous and resounding “YES!”
Seamus Petrie – Legislative and Organizing Director
