02/13/2012
Nevada Fire Safe Council: Statement on OIG report
In response to the recent Report released by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the US Department of Agriculture, The Nevada Fire Safe Council recognizes that grant fund management, accounting, and tracking errors occurred. However, the OIG’s report also states “nothing has come to our attention at this time to indicate that fraud actually occurred.”
The grant funds that have been managed by the Nevada Fire Safe Council have been used to reduce the serious threat of wildfire and to increase community protection. “The funds expended helped reduce the potential loss of life and property by educating, empowering, and enabling citizens to do defensible space work around their properties, thereby enhancing their safety and survivability in case of wildland fire,” reports Joan Presley who is the board chair for the Nevada Fire Safe Council.
The funds hired local contractors and supported individual homeowner efforts to remove trees, brush, pine needles, and other flammable fuels throughout Nevada and the Lake Tahoe Basin. The benefit to the enhanced protection of life and property by these activities has been repeatedly shown, most recently during the Caughlin fire.
“Essentially, poor accounting and fund source tracking procedures were revealed by the OIG investigation. The funds received by the Council were used to support the core mission of the Council, community wildfire preparedness, and the community protection goals of our funding partners,” said Presley.
The Nevada Fire Safe Council is working with the OIG and Forest Service to provide all requested information and documentation. In addition, when the grant management deficiencies were first revealed, the Nevada Fire Safe Council took immediate action to begin implementation of the necessary corrective actions and to overhaul their internal systems to establish control measures and grant tracking procedures that comply with Federal requirements.
It is also clear that oversight and proper review of financial procedures by the granting agencies was deficient.
The outstanding accomplishments of the Nevada Fire Safe Council working in partnership with Federal, State, and local fire services should not be overshadowed by the findings contained in the OIG report.
The Nevada Fire Safe Council has been responsible for implementing and managing fuel reduction projects in Nevada and the Lake Tahoe Basin since 1999. The projects have removed hazardous fuels and provided defensible space on thousands of acres around hundreds of communities. These projects have greatly increased community awareness of the dangers posed by uncontrolled wildfire and increased firefighter safety by treating fuels to lower fire intensities.
With the committed help of our funding partners, the management errors and deficiencies detailed in the OIG report can be corrected.
