The Department of Agriculture has disclosed that $500 million, sourced from the Investing in America Agenda, will be allocated to address the escalating wildfire crisis in America. The funding is earmarked for risk reduction efforts aimed at safeguarding communities, critical infrastructure, and natural resources.
Secretary Tom Vilsack of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced this decision. "As climate change exacerbates the challenges our communities, forests and infrastructure face from catastrophic wildfires, our answer to those challenges have to match the scale of the threat," Vilsack said. "We have already made progress, but there is still much to be done. This additional investment, thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, will help deliver the tools and resources our employees, partners and communities need to protect lives and livelihoods across a vast, shared landscape."
In total, the Investing in America Agenda has committed over $2.4 billion towards a comprehensive strategy designed to support American consumers and bolster the economy. The funds directed towards mitigating the wildfire crisis contribute towards advancing the National Climate Resilience Framework by enhancing and expediting resilience strategies. According to a press release by the Department of Agriculture, $400 million of this investment will be spent on initiatives within 21 designated priority landscapes, bringing total expenditure on this effort up to $1.6 billion. The remaining $100 million will establish a new initiative called the Collaborative Wildfire Risk Reduction Program under the auspices of the Forest Service. This program will focus on areas outside of these 21 priority landscapes.
The Forest Service introduced its Wildfire Crisis Strategy in January 2022 with an aim to protect communities and their resources by increasing hazardous fuel treatments - an effective method for reducing wildfire risks. As a result of this action plan, risk levels have been lowered for 550 communities and 1,800 watersheds that provide drinking water for millions of Americans. By 2023, more than 4.3 million acres in the United States are expected to have reduced their hazardous fuel dependency through this program.
