Haaland: 'Climate change has increased wildfire threats across the country'

Deputy Secretary of the Interior Tommy Beaudreau recently announced $228 million for wildland fire management.

According to a Dec. 14 news release, the funding will support pay increases for federal firefighters, training opportunities, fuels management work to reduce fire risk, burned area rehabilitation and examining the impacts of climate change on fire management. The funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

"Climate change has increased wildfire threats across the country," U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a Dec. 16 post on Twitter. "Funding from @POTUS' Bipartisan Infrastructure Law ensures federal wildland firefighters get the pay they deserve and new training opportunities, as we invest in fire prevention and research."

The U.S. Department of the Interior announced $228 million for wildland fire management. | Chad Boyd/Agricultural Research Service

Haaland's post included a link to a Dec. 14 Denver Post article about the increased federal funding to "fight and recover from wildfires." More than $7 million will help fund more than 50 projects in Colorado.

The decision to grant funds to Colorado came in light of the Marshall fire which broke out Dec. 30, 2021, according to the Denver Post. This fire "underscored the ever present threat of wildfire as the climate turns hotter and drier in the west."

In April, the Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture released a five-year monitoring, maintenance and treatment plan to address wildfire risk. It is a roadmap of sorts to focus on a number of outcomes.

According to the plan, the initiative will reduce severe fire risk on 10 million acres of federal land, Tribal forest lands and rangeland that pose a high wildfire hazard; develop a process for prioritizing treatments in areas and communities at the highest risk of catastrophic wildfire in direct partnership with state and local entities and affected stakeholders; leverage public-private partnerships; prioritize projects evaluated under the National Environmental Policy Act; streamline subsequent projects based on existing statutory or regulatory authorities; and develop interagency teams to increase coordination and efficiency under NEPA.

“In Colorado and across the west, communities are feeling the effects of the climate crisis in the form of worsening drought and severe wildland fires," Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau said in the news release. "With funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Interior Department is bringing much-needed support to increase the resilience of lands facing the threat of wildland fires and better support federal wildland firefighters. These resources are vital to prevent future fires, rehabilitate burned areas and properly equip our brave firefighters on the frontlines.”