NEWBURY, N.H. (AP) – Gov. John Lynch told a conference on disaster preparedness Thursday that regional cooperation and planning is essential to prepare for emergencies such as a potential bird flu outbreak.

Lynch told the New Hampshire-Vermont Emergency Preparedness Conference he believes both states are well-prepared for disasters or emergencies, but they need better planning together because disasters don’t recognize state borders. He said he hopes to begin more planning with Massachusetts and Maine as well.

In a discussion of avian flu preparations, Lynch said he met in the spring to discuss bird flu with public health and emergency management officials challenged state agencies to prepare a drill to test the state’s ability to distribute medications in the event of a pandemic.

The drill, planned for Nov. 19, will test state and local coordination and ability to distribute real flu vaccine in Colebrook, Portsmouth and Manchester. “I was not comfortable in relying on the hope that plans developed on paper, and only tested on paper, would work when we needed them,” he said.

Lynch also said the federal government needs to dedicate resources toward a bird flu outbreak and said legislation before the Senate and the President Bush’s address on the issue this week are good first steps.

“Every state must be equally prepared and equally able to respond. If they are not, then a pandemic will spread even more quickly,” Lynch said. “That is why I am disturbed by the proposal to force states to pick up the costs of buying and storing this vaccine. That can only result in unequal supplies and preparation, which could make a disaster even worse,” he said.

“This is a national problem that will require national resources,” he said.