Establishing the Wildland Fire Management Policy Committee

Impact dates

1. Jan 14, 2022

   First annual status report on strategic plan implementation

2. Jul 13, 2021

   Develop, publish, and implement strategic plan with measurable goals and performance targets

3. Apr 14, 2021

   Identify all federal interagency working groups and provide consolidation recommendations

Key directives

• Establish Wildland Fire Subcabinet co-chaired by Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior
• Subcabinet shall meet quarterly
• Within 90 days: identify all federal wildfire interagency working groups and recommend consolidations
• Within 180 days: develop, publish, and implement strategic plan with measurable goals, performance targets, and dashboard reporting
• Within 1 year: submit first annual status report, then annually thereafter
• Strategic plan must address 10 specified issue areas including hazardous fuels performance measures, suppression operations metrics, new technologies, personnel policies, critical infrastructure collaboration, NEPA coordination, utility vegetation management, and coordinated budget strategy

Who is ordered

• Secretary of Agriculture · Department of Agriculture
• Secretary of the Interior · Department of the Interior
• Secretary of Defense · Department of Defense
• Secretary of Energy · Department of Energy
• Secretary of Homeland Security · Department of Homeland Security
• Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality · CEQ
• Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy · OSTP
• Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency · Environmental Protection Agency
• Director of the National Economic Council · NEC
• Director of the Office of Management and Budget · Office of Management and Budget

Timeline

Risks & tensions

• Order signed 6 days before end of Trump administration; implementation continuity uncertain under new administration
• Strategic plan development timeline (180 days) would fall under Biden administration
• Consolidation of existing councils may face bureaucratic resistance from affected agencies
• Performance measures for suppression operations emphasizing 'strategic use' over 'overwhelming force' may conflict with incident commander safety priorities
• Budget strategy requiring trade-offs between suppression and fuels treatment faces perennial political pressure to prioritize immediate suppression
• NEPA coordination goals vague on specific streamlining mechanisms