Story at a glance
- Lawmakers are urging President Biden to issue a disaster declaration amid historic drought and wildfires.
- “There is little to no livestock feed available in the West, farmers are considering selling their livestock or land, and many species of wildlife are suffering from wildfires and lack of water,” the lawmakers wrote.
- A bipartisan group of governors lobbied similar concerns to the federal government in a separate letter earlier in August.
Lawmakers are urging President Biden to issue a disaster declaration as drought and wildfires ravage multiple western states.
A letter signed by Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) and Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) asked the administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to deliver the necessary resources states required to battle the “historic dry conditions and devastating wildfires.”
“There is little to no livestock feed available in the West, farmers are considering selling their livestock or land, and many species of wildlife are suffering from wildfires and lack of water,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter delivered Wednesday “This drought could have long-term impacts on the food supply, wildlife, and livelihoods of Americans in the West as these conditions persist.
Drought conditions across Colorado have reached historic levels.
I’m leading my colleagues in urging the federal government to declare a drought disaster declaration and ensure robust federal resources to make the west more resilient to drought. pic.twitter.com/kuo16JEw87
— Rep. Joe Neguse (@RepJoeNeguse) August 25, 2021
A bipartisan group of governors lobbied similar concerns to the federal government in a separate letter earlier in August. The governors, including Jared Polis (D-Colo.), asked the president to declare a drought emergency. Without a declaration, the governors argued, it would “take years to recover from the effects of this devastating drought.”
“We are eager to have additional conversations with you and your Administration about longer term strategies to make the west more resilient to drought, wildfires, and climate change. However, at this time we are requesting that you immediately declare a FEMA drought disaster in our states, allowing our agriculture communities to access funding beyond what is available through existing emergency programs,” the letter reads.
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The federal government recently declared a water shortage for the Colorado River and Lake Mead, and water from the Colorado River for Arizona, Nevada and parts of Mexico will be reduced starting in January, NBC News reported. Concurrently, 13 states are fighting approximately 100 fires, according to the outlet.
Firefighters in California alone are battling 12 active wildfires that have burned 1.62 million acres, according to CalFire.
The Biden administration declared an emergency in California on Tuesday to allocate “federal aid to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by wildfires.”
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