National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy

National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy
Name	National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy
Formed	2011
Jurisdiction	United States
Parent agency	United States Department of the Interior, United States Department of Agriculture

National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy The National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy was developed to address wildland fire challenges across the United States. It arose from collaboration among federal agencies such as the United States Department of the Interior, the United States Department of Agriculture, and partners including the National Association of State Foresters, the National Interagency Fire Center, and tribal nations like the Navajo Nation. The Strategy seeks to balance ecological needs, community protection, and firefighter safety by coordinating actions across jurisdictions such as national parks, national forests, and state lands like the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Background and Purpose

The Strategy was initiated following high-profile events including the 2000 Cerro Grande Fire, the 2002 Hayman Fire, the 2011 Wallow Fire, and the catastrophic 2018 Camp Fire, which exposed gaps across agencies including the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. It reflects lessons from federal statutes and policies such as the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003, and the Burned Area Emergency Response procedures used after fires like the 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire. Its purpose aligns with initiatives from organizations including the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, the Institute for Business and Home Safety, and the Wildland Fire Leadership Council to reduce wildfire risk, restore landscapes like the Sierra Nevada, and increase community resilience in places such as Oregon and Colorado.

Goals and Objectives

The Strategy articulates three interdependent goals: restoring and maintaining resilient landscapes exemplified by restoration efforts in the Chihuahuan Desert and the Great Plains; creating fire-adapted communities such as those in Monterey County, California; and improving wildfire response across incident types like the Rim Fire and the Mendocino Complex Fire. Objectives link to tactical actions used by agencies including the National Park Service, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and state partners such as the Texas A&M Forest Service to prioritize treatments, reduce hazardous fuels in areas like the Ponderosa Pine ecosystems, and implement defensible space programs modeled after successes in Flagstaff, Arizona and Boulder County, Colorado.

Implementation and Governance

Implementation involves cross-jurisdictional coordination among entities including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States Geological Survey, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Governance structures include the Wildland Fire Leadership Council, regional coordinating bodies like the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center, and collaborative groups such as the Southwest Coordination Center and community-based collaboratives modeled after the Applegate Partnership. Implementation uses strategies from agencies including the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, the Alaska Fire Service, and tribal fire programs like the Intertribal Timber Council.

Key Programs and Initiatives

Major programs aligned with the Strategy include community preparedness efforts supported by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, hazardous fuels reduction projects on lands managed by the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, and prescribed fire initiatives influenced by practitioners from the The Nature Conservancy and the National Parks Conservation Association. Initiatives also include landscape-scale partnerships such as the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program, pilot projects funded by the Joint Fire Science Program, and cross-boundary agreements like those between the City of Redding and surrounding counties. Training, equipment, and incident management improvements draw on curricula from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group and resources from the Volunteer Firefighters' Relief Association and state agencies including the California Office of Emergency Services.

Science, Research, and Monitoring

The Strategy depends on research conducted by institutions such as the United States Geological Survey, the University of California, Berkeley, the Colorado State University, and the University of Arizona, and programs including the Joint Fire Science Program and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Monitoring networks and remote sensing efforts rely on tools and datasets from the Landsat Program, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, and the National Interagency Fire Center’s Situation Unit. Scientific contributions from researchers at the Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, the Pacific Southwest Research Station, and the University of Montana inform fuel modeling, fire behavior simulations using systems like BehavePlus, and climate analyses by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the National Climate Assessment.

Challenges and Criticisms

Challenges include jurisdictional complexity involving agencies such as the United States Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and multiple state agencies, funding shortfalls tied to congressional appropriations overseen by the United States Congress, and public perceptions shaped by media outlets including The New York Times and NPR. Critics from advocacy organizations such as the Sierra Club and academic voices at institutions like Yale University and Harvard University argue that the Strategy insufficiently addresses climate change impacts highlighted by the Fourth National Climate Assessment. Other criticisms note uneven implementation across regions exemplified by disparities between Alaska and the Lower 48, concerns about air quality impacts monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency, and tensions with tribal sovereignty claims raised by the National Congress of American Indians.

Outcomes and Future Directions

Outcomes include increased use of prescribed fire and mechanical treatments on landscapes like the Sierra Nevada and improved interagency coordination evidenced in responses to incidents such as the 2015 Butte Fire and the 2020 August Complex Fire. Future directions emphasize integrating climate projections from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, expanding partnerships with universities such as Oregon State University and University of California, Davis, strengthening tribal co-management with groups like the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, and pursuing funding reforms involving the United States Congress and federal budget processes. Continued attention from organizations including the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the RAND Corporation will shape adaptive strategies for resilient landscapes and fire-adapted communities.

Category:Wildfire management in the United States