Wildfire Policy Committee (E.O. 13976)

Summary

Establishes a new committee to help different government groups work together better to manage and prevent wildland fires across the country.

What problem does this solve?

Different government groups do not work together well on policies for fighting wildland fires, which leads to confusion and wasted money. This order creates a single committee to lead policy, control costs, and make sure all groups coordinate their efforts.

What does this order do?

Establishes the Wildland Fire Subcabinet

Creates a new high-level group, co-chaired by the Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of the Interior, to coordinate wildland fire policy across the federal government.

Requires a new strategic plan

Directs the new Subcabinet to develop and publish a strategic plan with measurable goals for managing fires, reducing risks, and improving technology and workforce policies.

Reduces duplicated efforts

Requires the Subcabinet to identify all existing federal wildfire groups and recommend which ones can be combined to make the government more efficient.

Develops better performance measures

Calls for new ways to measure the success of fire suppression and fuel reduction that focus on strategic goals, not just simple numbers like acres burned or dollars spent.

Supports the firefighting workforce

Promotes efforts to recruit, train, and keep federal wildland firefighters to ensure a skilled workforce is available year-round.

Requires annual progress reports

Mandates that the Subcabinet report each year on the status of its strategic plan and the actions it has taken.

Who does this affect?

Federal agencies involved in wildland fire management
Federal wildland firefighters
Communities in fire-prone areas

What is the real world impact?

•

Improves government efficiency

Creates a single point of leadership to reduce duplicated efforts and conflicting policies among different federal agencies. This aims to make wildland fire management more effective and less costly.

•

Increases accountability for spending

Focuses on creating new ways to measure success that go beyond just counting acres burned or money spent. This pushes agencies to prove their strategies for fighting fires and reducing risks are working effectively.

When does this start?

This order became effective on January 14, 2021, and sets several deadlines for future actions.

Review of existing wildfire groups

Within 90 days (by April 14, 2021), the Subcabinet must identify all federal wildfire groups and recommend which ones to combine.

Strategic plan publication

Within 180 days (by July 13, 2021), the Subcabinet must develop and publish a new strategic plan for wildland fire management.

First annual report

Within one year (by January 14, 2022), and every year after, the Subcabinet must report on its progress.

Subcabinet meetings

The Wildland Fire Subcabinet is required to meet every three months (quarterly).