Tester wants forest management and fire funding changed

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said in a telephone press conference Wednesday that the federal government needs to change how it funds wildfire fighting, and it needs to treat wildfires like it does other natural disasters.

"The Forest Service is robbing Peter to pay Paul when they are fighting these fires, and we need to fix that problem," Tester said

Wildfire suppression is paid for through funds in the U.S. Forest Service budget. When fire suppression funds run low, the service diverts money from other parts of its budget to be able to fight forest fires on federal land, a practice k...