New study shows benefits of fully funding wildfire resilience bill
EVERETT — Greenline Insights, a nonpartisan research firm, released a new study on Tuesday outlining the full potential of HB 1168, a 2021 bipartisan bill that called for an eight-year, $500 million investment in wildfire prevention.
The study comes on the heels of a major funding cut. While confronting budget deficits last year, the Legislature invested less than half of the dollars put in during previous biennium cycles.
The new study, funded by The Nature Conservancy and Sustainable Northwest, shows that when fully funded at $125 million biannually, the bill can prevent over 31,000 acres of severe wildfires, support nearly 1,100 jobs statewide, generate $174 million in economic output and help the state avoid $1 billion in long-term wildfire damages.
The Legislature initially invested $130 million toward the goal during the 2021-23 biennium and $115 million for the following cycle. But this year, only $60 million was set aside.
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/new-study-shows-benefits-of-fully-funding-wildfire-resilience-bill/