This month we are moving ahead with focus on year two implementation of “Confronting the Wildfire Crisis: A Strategy for Protecting Communities and Improving Resilience in America’s Forests” following the successful announcement in January on the expansion of the strategy. We must shift our mindset to think beyond acres treated. ​Our work must focus on protecting people and the things important to their lives and livelihoods, such as critical infrastructure, including powerlines, dams and municipal watersheds. ​If we do this right, we can and will reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire and make our communities safer.

This year’s expansion includes 11 additional landscapes at highest risk identified in collaboration with other federal agencies, Tribes, states and partners. This brings the total landscapes to 21, which are spread across a portion of the 250 firesheds we pinpointed as being at highest risk. Additionally, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has invoked the emergency authority across the 250 high risk firesheds and specific post-fire recovery areas that Congress has given us under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (section 40807, Emergency Actions). The law authorizes us to take emergency actions to protect public health and safety, critical infrastructure and natural resources on National Forest System lands.

What does that mean? It means that the Forest Service will use our emergency authorities to accelerate the wildfire crisis strategy and post-fire recovery. Using the right tools in the right places, the emergency authorities provide the Forest Service the opportunity to accelerate planning, consultation, contracting, hiring and implementation of fuels and forest health treatments across the 250 high-risk firesheds.

As always, our work will be in full compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and other applicable laws. We will use our authorities strategically and thoughtfully to plan and carry out our treatments to protect communities, critical infrastructure and other values in consultation with Tribes, communities and partners. Use of these emergency authorities must be approved on a case-by-case basis by me as Forest Service Chief.

Last week, Deputy Chief Chris French hosted a recorded webinar to give an overview of the available authorities, process and procedures for use of these authorities. This week, I am in Albuquerque for an inaugural workshop for line officers and program managers associated with each of the 21 landscapes. Workshop participants will share information, goals, direction and timelines for carrying out our wildfire crisis strategy. They will also discuss tactics, lessons learned and challenges faced, including potential solutions.

After growing in size, duration and destructivity over the past 20 years, wildfires have reached crisis proportions in the West. This is a national emergency, and it calls for decisive action. That is why we launched our wildfire crisis strategy—and why we are now concentrating our work and focusing our investments on the 21 landscapes at highest risk. The core of our wildfire crisis strategy is picking up the pace and scale of our fuels and forest health treatments to match the scale of wildfire risk in the West. This is a national priority for the Forest Service, and I urge every one of you to support our employees and partners as they put our strategy into action.

Thank you for all you do!

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