BOISE, IDAHO – As the 2016 wildfire season is underway, on Tuesday, May 24, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell will travel to Idaho to make an important funding announcement to increase wildfire resilience across the country.
Secretary Jewell will also receive briefings on the 2016 fire season outlook at the National Interagency Fire Center and an update on implementation of her Secretarial Order 3336, Rangeland Fire Prevention, Management, and Restoration. This Order, issued last year, calls for the development of a comprehensive, science-based strategy to reduce the size, severity and cost of rangeland fires; address the spread of cheat grass and other invasive species; and position wildland fire management resources for more effective rangeland fire response.
While in Idaho, Secretary Jewell will also tour the Soda Fire Rehabilitation site, the location of a nearly 280,000-acre wildfire burn last year, affecting federal, state and private lands in southwest Idaho and eastern Oregon. The Soda Fire represents the most significant loss of sage-grouse habitat in a single fire season, burning portions of more than 40 grazing allotments, popular motorized and non-motorized trails and more than 400 square miles of wildlife habitat.
She will be joined by Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Janice Schneider as well as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary – Policy, Management and Budget Kris Sarri and other federal family firefighting partners who provided recovery resources and are now providing rehabilitation expertise at the Soda Fire site, including the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Last week, Secretary Jewell led a discussion with federal family firefighting agencies at the White House regarding the increasing danger to communities in wildland-urban interface (WUI) areas as fire seasons become hotter, drier and longer. Jewell also highlighted the need for greater collaborative action to enhance community resilience against these risks and strengthen federal firefighter safety and preparedness.
Who:
Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of the Interior
Ron Dunton, Bureau of Land Management. Acting Director, Fire and Aviation
Tom Shultz, Director, Idaho Department of Lands
Curtis Elke, Idaho State Conservationist, Natural Resources Conservation Service
What:
Wildland Fire Resilient Landscape Funding Announcement
When:
Tuesday, May 24, 2015
1:15 p.m. MDT – Media check-in
1:30 p.m. MDT – Press conference followed by brief media availability
Where:
National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC)
Jack Wilson Building
3833 Development Avenue
Boise, Idaho 83705
Media:
Credentialed members of the media who are interested in attending are required to RSVP here.
Source: Department of Interior
