Udall Welcomes National Science Foundation Support for Study of Homeowner Wildfire Mitigation Efforts

$298,045 Competitive Grant Will Fund Study of How Agencies Can Better Encourage Homeowners to Prepare for Wildfire

WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 12, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Mark Udall, who serves on the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, welcomed the National Science Foundation’s decision this week to award $298,045 in competitive grant funds to the University of Colorado to examine how agencies and other organizations can better encourage homeowners to proactively prepare their properties and reduce wildfire risks. The study will focus on Coloradans living in fire-prone areas of the Western Slope.

“Wildfires are an unfortunate part of life for many of us living in Colorado. However, there is much homeowners can do to prepare their properties and reduce the risk that they or their neighbors will lose a home or loved one in a fire,” Udall said. “The most effective yard tool you can have if you live in a wildfire-prone area is not always a chainsaw — it’s a rake and a weed-whacker. This competitive grant is welcome news for the millions of Coloradans who live in and around our fire-prone areas. I look forward to seeing this study’s conclusions and how we can better encourage homeowners to create defensible space around their homes.”

Udall has actively encouraged homeowners to proactively prepare their homes and properties for the threat of wildfire. In addition, he sought a study of 2012’s Waldo Canyon and High Park fires — the most destructive in the state’s history — and asked the U.S. Forest Service to study how to better encourage homeowners to mitigate the risk of wildfire.

Udall, a leading voice for ensuring that Colorado and the West are prepared to face the threat of wildfire, has consistently pressed the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Air Force to quickly secure the air tanker resources needed ahead of the 2013 wildfire season. And he urged private contractors earlier this year to respect the U.S. Forest Service’s upcoming decision to award contracts to several U.S. companies to supply next-generation air tankers.

Udall led the fight to pass a bipartisan amendment to the U.S. Senate’s 2014 budget to allocate $100 million more for wildland firefighting and successfully secured federal assistance to repair drinking-water supplies damaged by the Waldo Canyon and High Park fires.