Despite the U.S. Forest Service’s solicitation closing this spring for Call When Needed (CWN) agreements, there have been none made yet for wildfire-fighting large air tankers (LAT) and U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) wants to know why.
“We are particularly concerned that LAT companies have responded to this solicitation in good faith, but have been left in limbo now for several months due to inaction by the United States Forest Service,” wrote Rep. Walden and two Democratic Senate colleagues from Oregon in a Sept. 16 letter sent to Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen.
Fire Suppression Resource Availability Agreements, commonly referred to as CWN agreements, are preseason agreements used to support or engage in fire or other emergency activities, including preparation, suppression and response, according to the Forest Service.
The intent of the agreement is to provide the government with fixed-wing LAT services to include the dropping of approved fire suppressant or retardant material on forest and range fires over all types of terrain throughout the United States, including Alaska.
The CWN solicitation originally was issued in July 2018 and closed in April 2019, according to Rep. Walden’s letter, but there have been no awards made yet.
Subsequently, the lawmakers wrote, this inaction hurts the Forest Service’s firefighting work because it lacks access to several next-generation LATs, which are available at lower rates than current aircraft in use and could save taxpayer money, according to the letter.
“We urge you to award the 2019 Call When Needed solicitation so that the Forest Service has access to all available tools in its wildfire suppression toolbox,” wrote Rep. Walden and the senators.