Nearly $500 million investment expands critical efforts to reduce wildfire risk

Combating the wildfire crisis USDA Secretary Vilsack announces nearly $500 million in investments to expand critical work to reduce wildfire risks USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on February 20, 2024, USDA announced it will invest approximately $500 million to expand the USDA Forest Service’s wildfire operations. Crisis strategies to reduce wildfire risk to local communities, critical infrastructure, and natural resources from the domestic wildfire crisis.

These funds, thanks to President Biden’s Inflation Control Act and bipartisan infrastructure legislation, bring the total investment in this comprehensive strategy to a historic $2.4 billion.The announcement also advances the administration’s National Climate Change Framework Supporting the expansion and acceleration of nationally comprehensive, localized, and community-led resilience strategies.

“As climate change exacerbates the challenges our communities, forests and infrastructure face from devastating wildfires, our answers to these challenges must match the scale of the threat. ” Secretary Vilsack said. “We are already making progress, but there is still much work to do. Thanks to President Biden’s investments in American policy, this additional investment will help our employees, partners, and communities work together across our vast shared landscape. It helps provide the tools and resources needed to protect lives and livelihoods.”

Approximately $400 million of the Inflation Control Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Act funds will be allocated for continued efforts on 21 designated priority landscapes. identified in the strategy, bringing the total investment to date to $1.6 billion. An additional $100 million will be allocated under the Cooperative Wildfire Risk Reduction Program, a new program established by the Forest Service. – To expand the work outside these landscapes.Drawing on past examples and success stories such as collaborative forest landscape restoration programsthe new program will expand work in high-risk wildfire areas outside of 21 priority landscapes.

The Cooperative Wildfire Risk Reduction Program uses hazardous fuel funds from the Inflation Control Act to target high-risk wildfire areas, known as the “wildland-urban interface,” where national forests and grasslands meet homes and communities. Areas other than the 21 priority landscapes will be processed. Through this program, National Forests works with eligible tribes, communities, and partners in 24 states to reduce wildfire risk and improve forest health to protect communities, infrastructure, water quality, and adjacent landowners. can build local capacity for projects that

A list of eligible states and criteria for eligible regions and projects can be found on the program webpage..

This announcement is part of President Biden’s Investment in America plan to increase land resiliency in the face of the threat of catastrophic wildland fires and strengthen support for federal wildland firefighters. The bipartisan infrastructure bill includes $1.4 billion to the USDA Forest Service for wildfire risk reduction funds. The Inflation Control Act provided an additional $1.8 billion to reduce wildfire risk to neighborhoods, infrastructure, watersheds, and the many other benefits that forests provide. All of these investments will help strengthen long-term fire preparedness, reduce the risk of catastrophic wildland fires across the state, and invest in supporting our wildland firefighter workforce.

In January 2022, the Forest Service launched its Wildfire Crisis Strategy. Our goal is to protect communities and the resources they depend on by enhancing the treatment of hazardous fuels to reduce the risk of wildfires. This work includes treating more than 1 million acres across 21 priority landscapes, approximately 550 communities, 2,500 miles of power lines, and 1,800 watersheds that provide drinking water to millions of Americans. wildfire risk is beginning to reduce.

Efforts to scale up efforts under these Landscape and Wildfire Crisis Strategies leverage scientific research and analysis, water source protection, risks to community infrastructure, species at risk, wildlife corridors, and equity. will be determined.Investment in wildfire crisis strategy is also part of President Biden’s Justice 40 initiativeaims to have 40% of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities.

“This important work is already underway. We are making an impact in reducing wildfire exposure to local communities, critical infrastructure, critical watersheds, socially vulnerable communities, and carbon stocks. ,” said the Department of Agriculture’s Under Secretary of Natural Resources and Environment. Dr. Homer Wilkes.

“I am pleased with the record pace and scale of work that Forest Service staff, partners, tribes, and communities accomplished,” said Forest Service Secretary Randy Moore. “These investments will enable us to continue our vital work in 21 priority landscape areas and enable focused start-up in other high-risk areas across the country to be determined through the new programme.”

In 2023, the Forest Service and a wide range of partners, communities, and tribes achieved more than 4.3 million acres of hazardous fuel reductions in national forests and grasslands across the country, including nearly 2 million acres of prescribed burns. Both are records. This is a record high in the agency’s 119-year history, with more than 1 million acres more than the previous year.