The Departments of the Interior, Agriculture and Homeland Security, through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, announced the members of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission.
The commission, announced in December 2021, is expected to "better prevent, mitigate, suppress and manage wildland fires," according to a July 7 Department of the Interior news release. The commission is expected to prepare a report with policy recommendations and submit it to Congress. DOI, USDA and FEMA "will provide support and resources to assist the commission with and coordination and facilitation of their duties," the release said.
"Climate change is increasing the threat of wildfire in the West and the new Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission will help us be better prepared," U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said in a July 7 statement. "No state understands the threat posed by wildfire better than California, where 10 million acres have burned, at least 183 people have died and more than 32,000 homes have been destroyed in the last five years alone."
The commission will build on existing efforts such as the Wildland Fire Leadership Council and the White House Wildfire Resilience Interagency Working Group and will continue to pursue a whole-of-government approach to wildfire risk reduction and resilience, the release reported. Shifting development patterns, land and fire management decisions and climate change have reportedly turned fire “seasons” into fire “years” in which increasingly destructive fires are exceeding available federal firefighting resources.
"We have a historic opportunity to take action on forest restoration, hazardous fuels management and post-wildfire restoration activities, and better address the needs of federal wildland firefighters," DOI Secretary Deb Haaland said in the December announcement. "The commission established under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will provide valuable insight into ways we can better prepare communities and ecosystems against the threat of wildland fire across our nation's public and Tribal lands."
The Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission members can be found on the USDA website.
