The Department of Interior is doling out some $236 million nationwide to support wildland fire management — including more than $10 million for Arizona programs.
It’s the latest installment of funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Acting Deputy Secretary of the Interior Laura Daniel-Davis told reporters at Saguaro National Park in Tucson on Tuesday the funding will go toward training, mental health care and pay raises for wildland firefighters.
“Notably, fire season is not really a season, anymore it’s a year-round, ever-present danger that communities face, including this community,” she said.
The funding will also allow Saguaro National Park to expand programs to eradicate invasive species like buffelgrass.
“It’s particularly concerning because it’s threatening the native species, they are native species that are more fire resistant, and at the same time these invasives fuel more frequent, more extreme fires that we’re seeing across the West,” she said.
Buffelgrass is a hard-to-remove invasive that burns almost three times hotter than native species. Daniel-Davis says the agency has put almost 900 thousand dollars toward eradication efforts at the park.
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero said the city is one of the fastest-warming in the U.S., and several local efforts for climate resiliency are already underway.
“These include our nature-based solutions approach...the Tucson million trees initiative, and the storm to shade program, which help us to combat the effects of the urban heat island,” she said.
Romero says the latest investments will help move projects forward.
