The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is announcing the selection of members to the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission today on behalf of the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, and Homeland Security.
The Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission, which was established by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and announced in December 2021, would be essential in suggesting methods that federal agencies might better prevent, mitigate, suppress, and control wildland fires. It will also suggest guidelines and plans for rehabilitating wildfire-damaged lands.
In March, a call for nominations was made for the non-federal members. Following the receipt of more than 500 applications, the panel has chosen 36 non-federal members to serve on it (18 primary and 18 alternates). The Interior, Agriculture, and FEMA Departments’ leadership will serve as co-chairs of the commission along with 11 other federal representatives. According to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, commission members represent federal agencies, Tribes, state and local municipalities, and private businesses.
Details on commission members are available at the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission website.
Within a year after its initial in-person meeting in August, the commission will compile a report with suggestions for new legislation and deliver it to Congress. This month, a virtual introduction call is planned. The Interior, Agriculture, and FEMA Departments will offer assistance and resources to help the commission with task coordination and facilitation.
The commission will continue to seek a whole-of-government strategy to wildfire risk reduction and resilience and build on current interagency federal activities including the Wildland Fire Leadership Council and the White House Wildfire Resilience Interagency Working Group.
Its construction coincides with a critical period in which the number of federal firefighting resources is outpacing the ability to contain increasingly severe fires due to changing growth patterns, land and fire management policies, and climate change.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law creates the commission and offers significant financing for a number of initiatives targeted at lowering wildfire risks, detecting wildfires, reforming the firefighter workforce, and creating more resilient infrastructure.
In order to help federal wildland firefighters deal with post-traumatic stress disorder and address environmental hazards to reduce exposure while on the job, the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture established a new joint mental wellness programme this year and allocated an initial $234 million under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.
The “Five-Year Monitoring, Maintenance, and Treatment Plan” of the Department of the Interior, which complements the USDA Forest Service’s “Confronting the Wildfire Crisis” strategy and offers a road map for addressing wildfire risk on Department and Tribal lands, is being implemented with the help of these investments.
The June 21st announcement of historic pay increases for federal wildland firefighters is supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. These increases aim to bring federal firefighter pay into line with that of their state and local counterparts while also assisting in the recruitment and retention of a more permanent and stable wildland firefighting force across the federal government.