The funding for insect and disease manage- 
ment has been primarily Federal, perhaps in part 
because of control activities on Federal lands. In the 
1960's, the Federal share was in the 80- to 
90-percent range. This fell to the 60- to 70-percent 
range in the 1970's but stayed there during the 
1980's because the States decreased funding as 
fast as the Federal Government. 
Effectively combating insects and diseases re- 
quires an integrated approach to forest manage- 
ment that discourages the pests from reaching epi- 
demic levels. Once an infestation begins, removal of 
the source is the most effective treatment. Contin- 
ued research and more effective overall forest man- 
agement may provide better solutions. 
Description of Current Protection 
Programs 
Protection programs have a variety of compo- 
nents and perspectives depending on one's organi- 
zational viewpoint. The focus of this part of the pa- 
per is on cooperative Federal/State programs 
(USDA Forest Service 1986a, 1987) and on general 
State/local programs that exist in the South. 
Fire Protection 
Federal/State Programs--The objective of the fire- 
protection program is to maintain and develop effi- 
cient and effective fire protection on non-Federal 
wildlands. The Forest Service intends to cooperate 
and participate with States in achieving the objec- 
tive. 
States and their political subdivisions are pri- 
marily responsible for fire protection on non-Federal 
lands. The Federal Government has responsibility 
for fire protection on Federal lands. The Cooperative 
Fire Protection Program provides technical and fin- 
ancial assistance to help the States efficiently and 
adequately protect non-Federal wildlands. It also 
provides trained, equipped crews that are available 
to cooperatively fight fires on Federal lands. The 
program emphasizes Forest Service participation in 
activities that result in a more efficient level of coop- 
erative fire protection. 
The Cooperative Fire Protection program pro- 
vides technical and financial assistance for non- 
Federal wildlands through the Wildland Fire Protec- 
tion program and through State Foresters' financial 
assistance for fire protection in rural communities 
with less than 10,000 inhabitants under the Rural 
Community Fire Protection program. Federal ex- 
cess personal property is loaned to the States to 
improve fire protection efficiency on non-Federal 
lands under the Federal Excess Personal Property 
program. A joint Federal-State-private effort (the Co- 
operative Forest Fire Prevention program) is de- 
signed to prevent human-caused wildland fires 
through the use of public service advertising, edu- 
cational programs, personal appearances by 
Smokey Bear, commercial licensing of Smokey 
Bear items, and fire-prevention awards. Smokey 
Bear is featured strongly in all aspects of the pro- 
gram. 
Nationally, the Cooperative Fire Protection pro- 
gram may include collecting data for planning and 
analysis, assessing accomplishments and opportu- 
nities for improved management, and doing effi- 
ciency studies; helping to use fire- protection re- 
sources efficiently and implement and maintain 
efficient levels of fire protection; helping develop 
and transfer new technologies between agencies; 
and developing and maintaining shared fire- 
protection resources among all government levels 
for more cost-effective operations. The Forest Serv- 
ice, in consultation with the States, is striving to 
develop cooperative fire-protection programs that 
will result in benefits across State lines. Priority is 
given to program efforts and projects that individual 
States would have difficulty undertaking if they had 
to act alone. A flexible program is intended. The 
Forest Service's office in the Southern Region is 
currently working with the States to develop a plan 
that will describe specific, high-priority, cooperative 
fire-protection programs. 
State/Local Programs--State and local programs 
to provide fire protection take several forms. Most 
States are authorized to issue or deny fire permits 
under State burning laws. These permits provide 
control of fire activities based not only on fire condi- 
tions but on air-quality parameters as well. The 
State may cancel permits during periods of high fire 
danger and may require training and certification of 
burners before issuing permits. The enforcement of 
these laws is critical to program effectiveness. Vir- 
ginia's effort has been cited as a successful exam- 
ple. The program is also strengthened where au- 
thority to collect reimbursement for suppression 
expenditures is available for illegal fires or fires im- 
properly managed, and where forest wardens are 
granted policing powers. 
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