Biden-Harris Administration Unveils 10-Year Wildfire Crisis Strategy

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, under the Biden-Harris Administration, recently unveiled a 10-year strategy to address wildfire dangers in places where fires pose the most immediate threats to communities. The strategy, called “Confronting the Wildfire Crisis: A Strategy for Protecting Communities and Improving Resilience in America’s Forests,” combines historic Congressional investments with years of scientific research and planning into a national effort to dramatically increase the scale of forest health treatments over the next decade.

The Forest Service will collaboratively implement its new strategy across jurisdictions and landownerships to protect communities, critical infrastructure, watersheds, habitats, and recreational areas. According to the Forest Service, overgrown forests, a warming climate, and a growing number of homes and buildings in the wildland-urban interface have contributed to what is now a “full-blown wildfire and forest health crisis.”

The strategy is made in part by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that provides nearly $3 billion to reduce hazardous fuels and restore forests. Vice President Kamala Harris today traveled to San Bernardino County to announce the availability of up to $600 million to California to support wildfire prevention and mitigation activities. This funding is anticipated to be used by local communities to address hazardous materials, address forest management, and repair infrastructure damaged by wildfires.

Additional information on the federal government’s new forest health strategy is available here.