Congress approves reports on wildland fires
Congress has approved two reports that include guidance on dealing with wildland fire management challenges across the country. The reports provide the framework for a comprehensive strategic effort to restore and maintain resilient landscapes, create fire-adapted communities, and respond to wildfires, according to a joint U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) website.
USDA and DOI released the reports — “A National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy” and “The Federal Land Assistance, Management And Enhancement Act Of 2009 Report to Congress” — on March 28. They were developed through the Wildland Fire Leadership Council (WFLC), an intergovernmental body of federal, state, tribal and municipal stakeholders who met in 14 listening forums across the nation from April through June 2010 to discuss their concerns about land management and wildfire related risks. The input from these forums was included in the Cohesive Strategy documents.
The two reports are the first phase of creating the cohesive wildland fire management strategy that is required by the Federal Land Assistance, Management, and Enhancement (FLAME) Act of 2009, according to the WFLC website. Regional strategies will be developed in the next phase, and a national trade-off analysis will be conducted in the third and final phase. “The Cohesive Strategy articulates our shared national challenges, assumptions, core values, goals, and performance measures for addressing the Nation’s wildfire challenges,” Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and United States Department of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack said in a letter to Congress about the reports. “This collaboratively developed document establishes a way forward.”
The Washington-based National Association of Counties (NACo) has long believed that there is a clear and imminent danger to public forest resources and adjacent communities stemming from years of fire suppression and other management decisions. In addition to increased fuel densities, past management decisions have led to unhealthy forests that are much more susceptible to insect infestation, disease, and catastrophic wildfire. “These devastating wildfires threaten our communities and local budgets year after year,” says Lake County, Ore. Commissioner Dan Shoun NACo’s representative on the WFLC. “Today, we are closer than ever to implementing effective solutions to protect our communities and precious resources.”
Read more about the reports.