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BOISE, ID — Acting Deputy Secretary of the Interior Laura Daniel Davis was at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise on January 9th to announce $138 million from President Biden’s Investment in America Plan to fight wildfires across the country. announced the assignment.
The department plans to invest $1.5 billion in wildland firefighting over the next five years under the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Building on a total of $647 million allocated starting in 2022, the January 9 announcement means more than half of that funding has been allocated.
Federal agencies manage wildfire on nearly 700 million acres of federal public land, about 20 percent of the land in the United States. The newly announced funding will support the training of wildland firefighters to reduce the likelihood of extreme wildfires, repair charred areas and address advances in fire science.
“As climate change causes increasingly extreme wildfires across the country, the Department of the Interior is strengthening the nation’s preparedness to respond to wildfire activity while building resilience to climate change across landscapes and communities.” the acting deputy chief said. “Through President Biden’s Invest in America policy, we will accelerate the pace and scale of our efforts and enable a more strategic approach to reducing extreme wildfire risks and supporting recovery in affected areas. We’re investing in improved science and technology to ensure wildland firefighting personnel have the support they deserve.”
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