Forestry Commission asks legislature for $11.16 million to shore up wildfire prevention, forest health and conservation

The Senate Finance Subcommittee on Natural Resources and Economic Development heard from Scott Phillips, state forester and executive of the South Carolina Forestry Commission, who outlined an $11,160,000 budget request that he said would address personnel, technology, wildfire prevention and land conservation needs.

Phillips told the committee the request includes seven recurring priorities, four nonrecurring priorities and one capital ask. "Our number 1 priority is $345,000 recurring, to retain our wildfire prevention staff," Phillips said, adding that federal funding for program staff is shifting to competitive grants and will no longer cover salaries. He said the commission needs to convert three prevention positions to stable state funding to avoid losing them.

The request matters because, Phillips told senators, losing prevention staff and other field capacity could increase the risk of larger wildfires and property damage. He pointed to recent fires, saying the commission’s newly funded single-engine air tankers were deployed on the Arcadia…