Wildfire Mitigation and Management Commission Releases Final Report

Wildfire Mitigation and Management Commission Releases Final Report


On September 27, the federal Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission, co-chaired by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, released a final report submitted to Congress that reflects a comprehensive review of the federal wildfire system. The report makes 148 recommendations covering seven key themes:

  • Urgent new approaches to address the wildfire crisis
  • Supporting collaboration to improve partner involvement
  • Shifting from reactive to proactive in planning for, mitigating and recovering from fire
  • Enabling beneficial fire to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire
  • Supporting and expanding the workforce to hire and retain the wildland firefighting staff needed to address the crisis
  • Modernizing tools for informed decision-making to better leverage available technology and information
  • Investing in resilience through increased spending now to reduce costs in the long run

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New Online Treatment Dashboard to Track Wildfire Resilience Projects

New Online Treatment Dashboard to Track Wildfire Resilience Projects


On August 29, the Governor’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force launched the beta version of a first-of-its-kind Interagency Treatment Dashboard beta that displays the size and location of state and federal forest and landscape resilience projects in California.

The dashboard offers a one-stop-shop to access data, provide transparency, and align the efforts of more than a dozen agencies to build resilient landscapes and communities in California. It reports treatment activities such as prescribed fire, targeted grazing, uneven-aged timber harvest, mechanical and hand fuels reduction, and tree planting. Users can sort treatments by region, county, land ownership and more.

The beta version of the dashboard will continue to be refined to include additional data, including projects by local and tribal entities, along with revisions based on public feedback. An official launch is expected in spring 2024 with more complete data on projects implemented in 2022.

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CAL FIRE and BLM Join Forces to Work Across Jurisdictions on Forest and Fuels Management Projects

CAL FIRE and BLM Join Forces to Work Across Jurisdictions on Forest and Fuels Management Projects


Through a nationwide initiative known as the Good Neighbor Authority, CAL FIRE and the BLM have entered a statewide agreement and contract worth approximately $4.5 million, made available to CAL FIRE as part of the agreement. The primary objective of this contract is to mitigate the potential devastation caused by wildfires specifically on BLM lands. By joining forces, the agencies can pair similar goals of separate projects on adjacent or nearby lands and further reduce the risks associated with wildfires while improving overall ecosystem health.

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BLM Prescribed Fire

BLM Signs Environmental Assessment to Streamline Fuels Reduction Projects

BLM Prescribed Fire

BLM Signs Environmental Assessment to Streamline Fuels Reduction Projects


Taking an aggressive approach to reduce wildfire risk in California and northwest Nevada, the Bureau of Land Management signed the Statewide Wildland-Urban Interface Fuels Treatment Programmatic Environmental Assessment.

Several years in the making, the Assessment will streamline planning processes allowing fuels reduction projects to move forward quickly when funding is available. This tool will be accessible to other organizations that want to coordinate fuels treatments adjacent to BLM lands, such as fire safe councils and private landowners. It’s estimated the Assessment will allow an additional 20,000 acres of public land to be treated each year, bringing the Task Force closer to reaching target milestones in the Fire-Adapted Communities Key Action areas.

On August 8, 2023 BLM officials signed a Decision Record signing to signify the beginning of the Assessments’s implementation.

The fuels reduction project that this Assessment will help streamline aims to reduce the intensity, severity, and the spread of wildfire on public lands by reducing overgrowth, creating fuel breaks and thinning forest density. As a result, communities in and around BLM lands will experience reduced likelihood of loss of life, property, and community infrastructure from wildfires.