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H.B. 77

             1     

WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION AMENDMENTS

             2     
2013 GENERAL SESSION

             3     
STATE OF UTAH

             4     
Chief Sponsor: Kraig Powell

             5     
Senate Sponsor: ____________

             6     
             7      LONG TITLE
             8      General Description:
             9          This bill allows the Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands to develop and
             10      implement a long-range fire presuppression strategy that is responsive to specific
             11      observed changes in climate that pose a risk to fire management.
             12      Highlighted Provisions:
             13          This bill:
             14          .    defines a term;
             15          .    allows the Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands to develop and implement a
             16      long-range fire presuppression strategy that is responsive to specific observed
             17      changes in climate that pose a risk to fire management; and
             18          .    makes technical changes.
             19      Money Appropriated in this Bill:
             20          None
             21      Other Special Clauses:
             22          None
             23      Utah Code Sections Affected:
             24      AMENDS:
             25          65A-1-1, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 361
             26          65A-8-101, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 20
             27     


             28      Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
             29          Section 1. Section 65A-1-1 is amended to read:
             30           65A-1-1. Definitions.
             31          As used in this title:
             32          (1) "Advisory council" or "council" means the Forestry, Fire, and State Lands Advisory
             33      Council.
             34          (2) "Climate change" means an observed rise in average annual temperature that:
             35          (a) is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of
             36      the global atmosphere;
             37          (b) occurs in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time
             38      periods; and
             39          (c) poses risks to fire management, including:
             40          (i) an extended fire season;
             41          (ii) an increase in fire occurrence; and
             42          (iii) an increase in area burned.
             43          [(2)] (3) "Division" means the Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands.
             44          [(3)] (4) "Multiple use" means the management of various surface and subsurface
             45      resources in a manner that will best meet the present and future needs of the people of this
             46      state.
             47          [(4)] (5) "Public trust assets" means those lands and resources, including sovereign
             48      lands, administered by the division.
             49          [(5)] (6) "Sovereign lands" means those lands lying below the ordinary high water
             50      mark of navigable bodies of water at the date of statehood and owned by the state by virtue of
             51      its sovereignty.
             52          [(6)] (7) "State lands" means all lands administered by the division.
             53          [(7)] (8) "Sustained yield" means the achievement and maintenance of high level
             54      annual or periodic output of the various renewable resources of land without impairment of the
             55      productivity of the land.
             56          [(8)] (9) "Wildland" means an area where:
             57          (a) development is essentially nonexistent, except for roads, railroads, power lines, or
             58      similar transportation facilities; and


             59          (b) structures, if any, are widely scattered.
             60          [(9)] (10) "Wildland fire" means a fire that consumes:
             61          (a) wildland; or
             62          (b) wildland-urban interface, as defined in Section 65A-8a-102 .
             63          Section 2. Section 65A-8-101 is amended to read:
             64           65A-8-101. Division responsibilities for fire control and the preservation of
             65      forest, watershed, and other lands -- Reciprocal agreements for fire protection.
             66          (1) The division shall determine and execute the best method for protecting private and
             67      public property by:
             68          (a) except as provided by Subsection (1)(e), preventing the origin and spread of fire on
             69      nonfederal forest, range, or watershed land in an unincorporated area of the state;
             70          (b) protecting a nonfederal forest or watershed area using conservation principles;
             71          (c) encouraging a private landowner to preserve, protect, and manage forest or other
             72      land throughout the state;
             73          (d) taking action the division considers appropriate to control wildland fire and protect
             74      life and property on the nonfederal forest, range, or watershed land within an unincorporated
             75      area of the state; and
             76          (e) implementing a limited fire suppression strategy, including allowing a fire to burn
             77      with limited or modified suppression, if the division determines that the strategy is appropriate
             78      for a specific area or circumstance.
             79          (2) The division may:
             80          (a) enter into an agreement with a public or private agency or individual for the
             81      purpose of:
             82          (i) [for the purpose of] protecting, managing, or rehabilitating land owned or managed
             83      by the agency or individual; and
             84          (ii) establishing a predetermined fire suppression plan, including a limited fire
             85      suppression strategy, for a specific fire management area; [and]
             86          (b) enter into a reciprocal agreement with a fire protection organization, including a
             87      federal agency, to provide fire protection for land and an improvement for which the
             88      organization normally provides fire protection[.]; or
             89          (c) develop and implement a long-range fire presuppression strategy that:


             90          (i) is responsive to climate change; and
             91          (ii) may include public education and outreach.




Legislative Review Note
    as of 1-21-13 1:01 PM


Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel


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