Joe Kline / The Bulletin file photo A hillside burns outside of Canyon City from the Canyon Creek Complex Fire in mid-August..

A group of U.S. senators from both parties has released draft legislation that looks to change the budgeting of federal money for firefighting.

The Wildfire Budgeting, Response and Forest Management Act calls for ending the practice of “fire borrowing,” in which funds from other priorities like fire prevention and forest restoration get used to fight fires instead. The draft law calls for adjusting budget caps to allow a transfer of funds to the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior when fire-suppression funds have been used up, according to a news release from the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

The agencies could also invest any excess suppression funds in years with fewer fires into fuel reduction work in order to reduce threats of wildfires near communities that are at risk, and to protect certain watersheds.

The draft would also speed up certain environmental reviews by limiting the number of alternatives that need to be analyzed for critical actions such as reducing hazardous fuels, installing fuel and fire breaks, restoring forest health and protecting municipal water supplies and wildlife habitat.

U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.; and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, released the draft legislation Wednesday. It reflects work the Energy Committee has done over the past two congresses to address wildfire and other issues, according to the news release.

In a statement, Wyden noted that wildfire season has grown into a year-round threat that eats up forest management budgets. The draft law is not a final solution to borrowing prevention and restoration funds but is a “step in the right direction,” he said.

Murkowski and Crapo also called the draft an important first step toward ending the borrowing practice, budgeting for wildfire suppression and managing forests. Murkowski noted that an area the size of Connecticut burned in Alaska last year. She called for a comprehensive solution that addresses both wildfire funding and forestry management.

Crapo said fire borrowing has resulted in less management of forests, fewer jobs and more disease and insect infestation.

“We need to call mega-fires what they are — disasters,” he said in a statement.

The committee will take public comment on the draft until June 13 at wildfire@energy.senate.gov. The committee still needs to vote on a version of the measure before it can be sent to the full Senate for a vote.

— Reporter: 541-617-7812,

hcorrigan@bendbulletin.com