Wildfire-Crisis-Implementation-Plan

Forest Service 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

FS–1187b | January 2022 

WILDFIRE CRISIS 

Implementation Plan 

CONFRONTING THE WILDFIRE CRISIS 

A 10-YEAR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

Wildfires in the West have been growing  in size and severity, placing homes,  communities, infrastructure, and natural  resources at grave and growing risk.  Growing wildfire risk is due to past  fire exclusion and accumulating fuels,  a warming climate, and expanding  development in the wildland-urban  interface. Impacts have far-reaching effects  on human health, the economy, community  well-being, and the environment, including  to areas important for water, carbon, and  wildlife. This is a national emergency, and  it calls for decisive action.  

In response, at the U.S. Department of  Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service, we  have released a 10-year strategy, and  are now developing a comprehensive  implementation plan for working with  partners across jurisdictions to reduce  wildfire risk to people, communities, and  natural resources while sustaining and  restoring healthy, resilient fire-adapted  forests. This implementation plan will  focus on changing the trajectory of risk by:  

• Identifying the right locations and tools  for fuels and forest health treatments  that are science-based and equitable. 

• Developing needed workforce capacity  and investing in the enabling conditions  required for success.  

• Working with partners across  jurisdictions to develop and implement  projects that are landscape scale,  

outcome-driven, and community ready.  

• Supporting planning and investments  in fire-adapted communities and on  partnerships to restore and reforest  areas already impacted by fire and  mitigate risks associated with postfire  disaster events.  

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided  an essential down payment on the resources  we need to perform this work. Funds will help  accomplish the hazardous fuels and forest  heath, ecosystem restoration, community  preparedness, and postfire recovery and  reforestation work called for in the 10-year  strategy and described in this implementation  plan. We will coordinate with the U.S.  Department of the Interior and other Federal  agencies as we engage partners and work  together to implement this historic legislation.  

This implementation plan is grounded in  the recognition that this is shared work  that will take cooperation and coordination  across jurisdictions and with many partners.  This includes continued close coordination  and work with our sister land management  agencies at the U.S. Department of the  Interior and with other Federal partners to  bring an all-of-Government approach to this  challenge, especially as we work together  to implement the Bipartisan Infrastructure  Law. It includes close coordination and  work with States, Tribes, local communities,  private landowners and partners in the public  and private sector, including conservation  organizations, forest industry, utilities, and  academia. It will also require continued focus  and work with partners to ensure equity and  environmental justice are built into the design  and implementation of this plan. 

This is intended to be a living document: it  will be informed by engagement and will be  updated periodically based on coordination  with other Federal agencies; consultation with  Tribes; engagement with States, communities,  and public and private sector partners; new  information about values at risk; and new  information about available resources. We  look forward to engaging with partners to  meet this challenge together. 

Cover photo: Spring prescribed burning on the Bitterroot National Forest, MT. USDA Forest Service photo. Winter pile burning after mechanical treatment on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, OR. USDA Forest Service photo. 

NATIONAL STRATEGY TO  REDUCE WILDFIRE RISK 

HIGH-RISK FIRESHEDS 

Community exposure is a central factor in the strategy to confront the wildfire crisis. Other factors  include Tribal and State plans, watersheds, equity, climate forecasts, and partner priorities.

This implementation plan builds on a national strategy  for confronting the wildfire crisis facing the Nation.  The strategy calls for an unprecedented paradigm shift  in land management to increase fuels and forest health  treatments across jurisdictions to match the actual  scale of wildfire risk to people, communities, and  natural resources, especially in the Western United  States.  

Over a period of 10 years, the proposed strategy calls  for: 

(1) Treating up to an additional 20 million acres on  the National Forest System in the West, over and  above current treatment levels; 

(2) Treating up to an additional 30 million acres on  other Federal, State, Tribal, and private lands in  the West; and  

(3) Developing a plan for long-term maintenance  beyond the 10 years. 

In recent years, at the Forest Service, we have treated  2-3 million acres per year for fuels and forest health  across the Nation. Treatments typically involve  thinning fuels and removing vegetation to reduce  heavy fuel loads that can increase the risk of extreme  wildfire events and using a risk-based approach to  restore healthy fire to fire-adapted ecosystems. We will  work with partners using a science-based approach  to determine where to prioritize treatments and  identify the appropriate tools, including prescribed  fire and mechanical thinning to reduce hazardous  fuels, change fire behavior, accomplish restoration  objectives, and create healthier and more fire-resilient  forests. These treatments work in concert with  community, infrastructure, watershed, and other  investments to protect values at risk 

Under the 10-year strategy, we will fully sustain—and  slightly increase—current treatment levels in the  South, Midwest, and Northeast. But most additional  investments will be in the West, where the wildfire  risk to homes and communities is highest. 

The map on the following page shows the firesheds  with the highest risk of community exposure to  wildfire from ignitions on all lands. It shows that a  small number of firesheds present the largest risk  to communities, based on historic fire behavior: in  fact, less than 10 percent of fire-prone forests in the  West account for roughly 80 percent of the fire risk  to communities. Using this map, we can engage with  Tribes, States, local communities, private landowners,  and other partners to identify shared priorities for  hazardous fuels treatments within these firesheds so  that we can meaningfully reduce risk to communities.  We can also work together to identify priorities for  treatments in additional firesheds based on other  values at risk and maintain prior investments in fuels  and forest health.  

We are currently working to develop additional  information about risks to water, carbon, and wildlife,  including old-growth forests, as well as risks to  socially disadvantaged and underserved communities.  Work with partners to identify risks to critical  infrastructure, social, cultural, and economic values,  and the incorporation of Indigenous and traditional  ecological knowledge will be important to inform  shared priorities and project design.  

Building on the 10-year strategy, this implementation  plan outlines a blueprint for developing and carrying  out this work through partnerships and collaboration.  

The Forest Service, the U.S. Department of the  Interior, other Federal agencies, Tribes, States, local  communities, landowners, and other partners have  an unprecedented opportunity for investment in  this work through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.  Those investments help to provide the resources  needed to implement this plan at scale and truly  change the trajectory of risk to people, communities,  and natural resources at this pivotal time. 

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STRATEGIC PLANNING GUIDELINES 

The strategy and implementation plan are based  on peer-reviewed research and a framework for  collaboration established over the past 20 years with  other Federal, State, Tribal, local, and private partners.  The following guidelines will support how we, at the  Forest Service, approach this work: 

• SCIENCE. Decisions about priority areas for fuels  treatment and the design of fuels treatments  will be grounded in the best available science,  including science that incorporates traditional  and Indigenous ecological knowledge and  recognizes the value of projects based on  traditional knowledge in consultation with local  Tribes. Land managers will incorporate emerging  data and technology into project design, along  with a knowledge of historical stand conditions  and structure. Other scientific tools, like potential  operational delineations (PODs), fire behavior  models, and information on ecological integrity  for specific forest types will guide treatment  placement and design. New information about  changing climate conditions, drought, and other  weather behavior that impacts fire risk will also  

land management jurisdictions, leverage diverse  capacities, and build broad public and community  support for the work at the scale necessary to  make a difference. This includes work across  Federal, Tribal, State, local, and private lands.  Partnerships, including those beyond existing  contracts and agreements, will help identify  barriers to success and ways to overcome them.  

• OUTCOME-BASED PRIORITIZATION. We are focused on  outcome-based work to achieve mutually desired  priorities, including reducing risk to people,  communities, natural resources, and other values  at the scale of wildfire risk. While accomplishing  this work with and through partners, we will use  prioritization tools including PODs when looking  at project layout and design. We will also develop  outcome-based performance measures to track  accomplishments and effectiveness and inform  continued work.  

• COMMUNICATION AND ENGAGEMENT. We will need  broad public agreement, including support from  lawmakers and local communities, to place fuels  and forest health treatments in the right places at  

The El Dorado National Forest after the Caldor Fire occurred, showing an area that was  

treated for fuels near South Lake Tahoe, CA. USDA Forest Service photo by Cecilio Ricardo.

CREATING CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS 

be incorporated to inform work during the  implementation period.  

• EQUITY AND INCLUSION. We will make investments  to increase equity and inclusivity, reflecting the  need to reach underserved communities, build  community capacity, and overcome barriers  through informed consent from those affected.  Opportunities for co-management and co stewardship with Tribes will also be a priority. 

• CROSS-BOUNDARY PARTNERSHIPS. No one  entity can accomplish the work alone: to  achieve the collective impact that our forests  and communities need, we must build a  multijurisdictional coalition to work across  

the right scale. Achieving consensus will require  effective and transparent public communication  with diverse audiences and cooperation with  trusted community partners using a wide range  of strategies. Through partner and community  engagement and collective action, we will strive to  build the mutual trust needed to achieve shared  goals and build the social license needed to work  at the actual scale of wildfire risk. 

• MAINTAINING IMPROVED CONDITIONS. Reducing fire  hazard and maintaining desired conditions often  requires repeated treatments over time; therefore,  investments in priority landscapes will be made  over appropriate timeframes. 

Meaningfully changing the trajectory of wildfire risk  by ramping up fuels and forest health treatments and  investing in fire-adapted communities at the scale  of actual wildfire risk will require recognizing and  investing in the most critical enabling conditions  needed for long-term success. In addition to moving  forward with early projects, we will focus during years  1 and 2 on working with partners to identify and  invest in the enabling conditions necessary for shared  success, including the conditions described below. In  years 3 to 10 and beyond, we will work to create and  sustain the conditions needed to reduce wildfire risk  by restoring and maintaining healthy, resilient fire adapted forests and investing in communities across  the West. Critical enabling conditions for this work at  scale include: 

• WORKFORCE CAPACITY. Over the last 20 years,  the number of agency permanent employees  dedicated to fire suppression has significantly  increased, while the number of employees in  other fields has decreased: we need to rebuild  skills and workforce capacity to accomplish fuels  and forest health treatments and fully engage with  communities at the necessary pace and scale. This  will require building and sustaining an inclusive  workforce in Federal and State agencies as well  as in local, Tribal, nongovernmental, and other  organizations. We need processes for sharing  resources across organizations for fuels and forest  health treatments just as we share resources for  wildland fire suppression.  

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Together, we will need to develop and train the  shared workforce needed to plan, design, and  evaluate projects; accomplish treatments at the  needed scale; collaborate and communicate well  with partners and communities; and support  business operations like grants, agreements,  and contracting. We will work to create  new approaches to training and workforce  development, including through the Civilian  Climate Corps and other partners, sharing skills  in short supply across jurisdictions. We will also  work to improve the use of all existing authorities,  for example by offering training on the use of  the Tribal Forest Protection Act, Good Neighbor  Authority, and the Tribal Biomass Demonstration  Project. Indigenous people using fire in their  communities and working together on Federal  lands will be critical, and we need policies  that enable inclusive practices and permit the  

• COLLABORATION. The 10-year strategy will require  new investments in collaborative capacity, both  within the Forest Service and other Federal  agencies and for Tribes, States, partners, and  communities. The strategy builds on an already  robust network of relationships requiring a  sustained commitment, but we will also need new  relationships for equitable access to investments  in reducing wildfire risk, repairing wildfire  damage, increasing community resilience, and  rehabilitating postfire landscapes. 

• SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. We will continually  incorporate the best available science into project  decision making, design, and implementation.  That includes acknowledging and incorporating  Indigenous and traditional ecological knowledge.  We will continue to invest in risk mapping to  identify areas of high wildfire risk to underserved  communities; to ecologic values and ecosystem  

• REGULATORY OR LEGISLATIVE NEEDS. Congress  has provided extensive tools and programs for  partnerships and landscape-scale work, such as  the Joint Chiefs Landscape Restoration Program,  the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration  Program, the Tribal Forest Protection Act,  and the Good Neighbor Authority. Depending  on conversations with partners and the bills  being considered by Congress, we will work  with Congress and partners on any additional  regulatory or legislative changes to facilitate  multijurisdictional work at the right scale. 

• FOREST PRODUCTS. The wood products industry  has been and will remain an important partner  for helping achieve restoration outcomes and  reduce wildfire risk. New and innovative uses  of wood, such as cross-laminated timber, can  

not only support restoration and risk reduction  outcomes but also sequester large quantities of  carbon.  

• SMALLWOOD AND BIOMASS UTILIZATION. The Nation  needs to supplement public investments in fuels  and forest health treatments through markets for  biomass and small-diameter materials removed  during mechanical thinning. Support for wood  products innovation, biochar, and other options  for transporting and using the material will be  important.  

• FIRE-ADAPTED COMMUNITIES. Fuels and forest  health treatments need to be matched with  equal investment in fire-adapted communities,  as envisioned by the National Cohesive Strategy  developed jointly by USDA, the U.S. Department  

appropriate use of fire.  

• CULTURE. A paradigm shift in land management  to treat landscapes for fuels and forest health at  the actual scale of wildfire risk will require shifts  in agency and partner culture away from business  as usual. We will need to clearly communicate  leadership intent, mobilize sufficient financial  and technical support, offer adequate skills  development and training, and establish  performance measures that reflect both the  outcomes we want and the relationships we need  to achieve them. We will also need to continue  close coordination with the U.S. Department of  the Interior and work with other Federal agencies  to truly deliver an all-of-Federal Government  response to this crisis, and to support investments  in fire-adapted communities. 

• PLANNING. Projects under the 10-year strategy will  need to be carefully planned and analyzed, which  will require new investments in Forest Service  capacity for planning and environmental analysis.  We will take a new approach to the landscape scale planning and analysis required to support  project implementation at the scale needed and  will work closely with the U.S. Department of  the Interior and the White House Council on  Environmental Quality to support planning and  consultation needs. 

services, including water, carbon, wildlife  and old-growth; and to social, cultural, and  economic values including areas important for  community access and recreation. We will need  to develop additional gap analysis and decision  support tools to inform project prioritization,  design, and financing. Our projects will use all  applicable emerging tools and technologies to  reduce wildfire risk and increase community and  landscape resilience following a wildfire. 

• MONITORING AND EVALUATION. We will need the  capacity to monitor progress and evaluate project  success in terms of outcome-based performance  measures. We will also monitor changing  conditions, including, but not limited to, fire  behavior and activity that might occur, changing  drought, and weather patterns. 

• COMMUNICATION OF OUTCOMES. To build community  trust and support for fuels and forest health  treatments at scale, we will need to communicate  the process for project development and to  quantify the project outcomes, both expected  and achieved. The outcomes will need to reflect  the viewpoints and values of everyone involved,  including partners and stakeholders across shared  landscapes. 

The Santa Fe National Forest has worked with the Pueblo of Jemez on the Southwest Jemez (SWJM) Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program project to  increase the landscape’s resilience to severe wildfire and other large-scale disturbances through collaborative, science-based ecosystem restoration of priority forests  and watersheds. The landscape area includes 210,000 acres on the Santa Fe National Forest, the Valles Caldera National Preserve, the Pueblo of Jemez Pueblo, and  additional parcels of State, private, and Tribal lands.  

The SWJM project was designed to meet four primary purposes: restore the forest’s resilience to wildfire and other disturbances by using low-intensity fire to return  fire to the landscape; protect cultural resources; improve wildlife habitat, watershed and riparian conditions, vegetation diversity, and water quality; and create local  economic development opportunities. As shown in this image, timber from the restoration project will go to the Tribe’s nearby Walatowa Timber Industries mill to  produce wood pellets, poles for utilities, beams and vigas for conventional and traditional home building, ties for railroads, posts for fences, milled lumber, mulch, and  firewood. USDA photo by Lance Cheung with permission of the Pueblo of Jemez.

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of the Interior, and several other Federal  

agencies. We will need to work with partners  and communities to support equitable access to  technical and financial assistance for community based investments and continue learning and  outreach about defensible spaces, planning,  zoning, and other community actions that  support living in fire-adapted landscapes. 

• REFORESTATION AND RESTORATION. We will need to  invest in reforestation and restoration businesses  and capacity, including nursery capacity. Support  

LAUNCHING PROJECTS 

The first 2 years of the plan will start with a call to  Forest Service regional foresters, followed by engaging  with other Federal agencies, Tribes, States, and other  partners, to list projects in high-risk firesheds that  

from Rural Development programs could be an  important part of helping to create resilience and  restoration jobs in rural communities. 

• FINANCIAL MECHANISMS. We will need financial  instruments and related authorities, such as green  bonds, to support public/private partnerships and  long-term investments in fuels and forest health  treatments, including maintenance treatments  over time. We might also need new kinds of  agreements among Federal agencies or with non Federal land managers to attract investments in  restoration work at the needed scale. 

• COMMUNITY READY. We will be looking for projects  that have been collaboratively developed with  others and reflect shared priorities. Projects  should also have completed relevant public  

community investments in fire-adapted  

communities, invest in partner and community  capacity, and meet the goals of the National  Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. 

• MAXIMIZING USE OF EXISTING AUTHORITIES. We  will look for opportunities to use all available  congressional authorities and programs for fuels  and forest health treatments, including the Tribal  Forest Protection Act, Good Neighbor Authority,  Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration  Program, the Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration  Partnership Program, Shared Stewardship  agreements, and other authorities. 

At the Forest Service, we will group projects submitted  for years 1 and 2 by landscapes as follows: (1) High-risk firesheds treatable in fiscal year 2022. 

(2) Other firesheds treatable in fiscal year 2022 based  on local priorities. 

(3) High-risk firesheds, and other firesheds treatable  based on local priorities, in fiscal year 2023. 

(4) High-risk firesheds needing capacity investment  for implementation in fiscal year 2024 and  beyond. 

are ready to go, lacking only the necessary funding  to begin. In particular, at the Forest Service, we will  identify projects that are: 

• LANDSCAPE SCALE. We will be looking for projects  to treat fuels and restore forest health at the  necessary scale and for smaller scale projects  designed as part of a larger scale approach. 

• OUTCOME DRIVEN. We will be looking for  projects that are designed to reduce wildfire  risk to communities, water supplies, or critical  infrastructure (including utility lines, roads, and  national security sites); critical ecological values  (including watersheds, wildlife habitat, and old growth stands) and ecosystem services (including  carbon storage); economic values (including  outdoor recreation, timber, and grazing areas);  areas of cultural and historic significance  (including areas important to Tribes); and areas of  social importance to communities (including for  access and subsistence use). Catastrophic wildfire  is the largest threat to these values in the Western  United States. This strategy and implementation  plan will help protect and conserve these values.  

comment and required environmental analysis,  at least for the parts of the project intended to be  initiated in years 1 and 2. 

At the Forest Service, we will also be looking for  projects with the following opportunities: • INVESTING IN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES. We  will look for equitability in project design and  implementation and for the potential to reduce  wildfire risk to underserved communities or  Tribes. The analysis will pinpoint any financial,  technical, or other capacity barriers that prevent  communities from being served. As appropriate,  we will work with partners to meet community  needs, including developing capacity within  Tribal and other underserved communities. 

• ATTRACTING AND COMPLEMENTING PARTNER  INVESTMENTS. We will look for projects on  National Forest System lands that attract partner  and other Federal, Tribal, and State and private  investments, including on adjacent jurisdictions.  We will also look for opportunities to coordinate  with U.S. Department of the Interior agencies  across Federal land jurisdicitions, complement  

Lupine regenerates after the Robertson Draw Fire near Red Lodge, MT. USDA Forest Service photo.

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POSTFIRE RISK REDUCTION,  

INITIATING PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT 

RECOVERY, AND REFORESTATION 

In years 1 and 2, at the Forest Service, we will  work with other Federal agencies, Tribes, State and  

damage repair and landscape rehabilitation.  Ensuring equitability includes removing systemic  

Postfire work is a critical and growing need and  will be a priority for the Forest Service to work with  communities to mitigate risk and support recovery.  At the Forest Service, we have a lot of work to do to  restore functioning ecosystems following the 2020 and  2021 wildfires.  

For example, wildfires create more than 80 percent of  reforestation needs, including approximately 1 million  acres that burned with high severity in 2020 alone.  We currently addresses only 6 percent of post-wildfire  replanting needs per year, resulting in a rapidly  expanding list of reforestation needs. We have plans  for the reforestation of more than 1.3 million acres  of National Forest System land. However, these plans  

only address one-third of National Forest System  reforestation needs, estimated to be 4 million acres  and growing. As we work to recover from wildfire,  we are emphasizing planting the right species, in the  right place, under the right conditions, so forests will  remain healthy and resilient over time. 

As with fuels and forest health treatments to reduce  fire risk, we will work with Tribes, States, local  communities, U.S. Department of the Interior and  other Federal agencies, and partners to work across  jurisdictions and build partnerships to address  postfire risks to people, communities, and natural  resources and to address the growing need for  restoration and reforestation. 

local agencies, communities, collaborative groups,  nongovernmental organizations, private landowners,  and other partners and stakeholders to develop this  implementation plan in a way that is transparent and  built on relationships. The USDA and Forest Service  leadership team will lead some engagements at the  national level, whereas others will be led by the agency  and partners at the regional and forest level. The  process will include: 

• Coordinating with the U.S. Department of  the Interior and other Federal agencies and  Departments to support a whole-of-Government  approach, including through the Federal Wildfire  Resilience Interagency Working Group.  

• Coordinating with other agencies within USDA,  including the Natural Resources Conservation  

barriers and giving minority and underserved  communities access to the financial, technical, and  collaborative resources and capacity they need  to reduce wildfire risk and to recover following a  wildfire. 

• Meeting with partners and stakeholders at the  national, regional, and local levels to solicit  insights and to assess partner capacity and needs  for collective work. 

• Engaging environmental and conservation non profit organizations, forest industry, utilities, water  providers and other stakeholders to discuss values  at risk and build shared understanding to support  prioritization and design of projects, identify the  necessary investments and enabling conditions  

USDA Forest Service staff and partners, including Blue Forest Conservation, the State of California, the Yuba Water Agency, and the National Forest Foundation,  discuss the Yuba Project. Working together, partners are piloting using a Forest Resilience Bond to pay for landscape-scale ecological restoration treatments on  15,000 acres of the Tahoe National Forest within the Yuba River Watershed. Collaboration has also laid the groundwork for a new regional partnership to support  forest management activities. USDA Forest Service photo by Paul Wade.

Service on existing partnership work with the  Forest Service, and connecting this work with  the priorities of other USDA agencies, especially  those in the Rural Development and Research,  Education, and Economics mission areas 

• Consulting with Tribes to meet Government to-Government responsibilities and ensure  Indigenous knowledge, rights, priorities, and  interests are reflected in fuels and forest health  treatments under the 10-year strategy. 

• Working with the Wildland Fire Leadership  Council to coordinate with States, Tribes, and  local governments in carrying out the Cohesive  Strategy, and engaging with States, counties, and  local communities to identify shared priorities. 

• Reaching out to communities at risk from wildfire  to build understanding and support for fuels and  forest health treatments, including the increased  

use of prescribed fire. That includes working with  communities at risk to increase their readiness for  wildfire and to encourage them to become more  fire adapted. 

• Reaching out to minority and underserved  communities to ensure the equitability of fuels  and forest health treatments under the 10-year  strategy, along with equitable access to postfire  

for success, discuss opportunities for public/ private investments, and develop monitoring and  outcome measurements to support accountability.  

• Meeting with local collaborative groups and  with partners who have been working on cross boundary treatments through Cohesive Strategy  projects, Shared Stewardship agreements, Joint  Chiefs Landscape Restoration projects, Tribal  Forest Protection Act projects, and Collaborative  Forest Landscape Restoration projects to discuss  shared priorities and capacities and build  

on collaborative land management planning  processes already underway (such as Shared  Stewardship agreements, State forest action  

plans, forest plan revisions, and cross-boundary  projects), thereby capitalizing on their momentum  and capacity and on the expectations they have  raised. 

• Holding conversations within the Forest Service to  make sure that the views and needs of the agency’s  workforce are recognized and included. 

By the end of year 1, at the Forest Service, we intend to  have a shared all-lands fireshed prioritization planning  framework in place that Forest Service regions and  forests can use together with other Federal agencies,  States, Tribes, local communities, and other partners to  design projects for years 3 to 10. 

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NEXT STEPS 

• BEGIN ENGAGEMENTS. The announcement of the  10-year strategy kicks off an engagement strategy  to strengthen alignment with and leverage the  energy and innovation of others around this  critical work. This will include close engagement  with the U.S. Department of the Interior and other  Federal agencies, Tribal consultation, national  and regional roundtables with State and local  partners, and engagement with the partners  and stakeholders identified above. We will be  developing information and additional engagement  opportunities throughout the year, as well as  implementation workshops that foster learning  on tools, techniques, and policy application; the  collaborative development of outcome-based  measures; an exploration of multiparty monitoring  strategies and reporting; the development of  public-private partnership strategy; on-going peer  learning opportunities; and coordinated policy  improvements. Please visit www.fs.fed.us for updated  information on events and ways in which you can  personally engage in this work.  

• CONTINUE SCIENCE AND PLANNING. Science, data,  and decision support tools will inform planning,  prioritization, and decision making. This includes  continuing work being done to reflect risk to  additional values, such as updating the fire exposure  map to include watersheds and equity layers;  identifying areas of importance for ecologic values,  including carbon, wildlife, and old-growth; and  identifying other social, cultural, and economic  values at risk. Work is ongoing to support science based project design to appropriately use all of  the tools for treatment in the right places and  in the right way and to incorporate Indigenous  and traditional ecological knowledge into project  design. Tools are being developed to support  project planning and mapping funds from different  sources to the work needed at the project level.  The implementation plan will need to continue  to incorporate information about changing risk  scenarios with climate change and as fires happen in  some of these locations on an annual basis. 

Crews plant whitebark pine trees near  Werner Peak on the Tally Lake Ranger  District, Flathead National Forest, MT. USDA Forest Service photo by A. Drysdale.

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• APPLY ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, EQUITY, DIVERSITY,  AND INCLUSION PRINCIPLES. A key priority  for advancing wildfire risk reduction is  

supporting investments that address equity  across communities of place and interest,  particularly those that have been historically  marginalized, have not traditionally enjoyed  the same opportunities for economic mobility,  or conversely have been negatively impacted  through discrimination or under-representation  in key decisions. At the Forest Service, we are  committed to the principles and direction set  forth by Executive Order (E.O.) 13985, “On  Advancing Racial Equity and Support for  Underserved Communities Through the Federal  Government” and E.O. 14008, “Tackling the  Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad” and efforts  related to Justice40.  

• SEEK TRIBAL CONSULTATION AND ENGAGEMENT. We  aim to seek strategic and ongoing engagement  with Tribes to identify opportunities in  

codeveloping a strategic implementation  plan for wildfire risk reduction. The future  implementation plan will give us the opportunity  to work together with Tribes to build long term capacity and job opportunities, as well as  incorporate Indigenous and traditional ecological  knowledge into planning and project design.  Formal consultations in addition to informal  conversations and roundtables are planned.  

• COORDINATE ACROSS GOVERNMENT. In addition to  close collaboration with the U.S. Department of  the Interior throughout the implementation plan,  we will support an all-of-Government approach  to this crisis and will continue to participate  in on-going and emerging interagency groups,  including the emerging Wildfire Commission, the  Wildland Fire Leadership Council, the Federal  Wildfire Resilience Interagency Working Group,  and other venues. We will also remain focused  on critical USDA and Administration priorities,  including Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry  and direction under Executive orders.  

• CONTINUE CAPACITY BUILDING. We are still  developing comprehensive staffing plans and will  be increasing capacity in not only field personnel  specializing in prescribed fire to complete the  work but also key administrative positions  like contracting officers, human resources  professionals, collaboration and partnership  coordinators, communications, and grants and  agreements specialists who will assist us in  connecting with partners around this work. These  partners in turn will be force multipliers.  

We also recognize that achieving the desired  pace and scale of land treatments will require the  support of State and local governments, Tribes,  nongovernment organizations, and private  contractors. We are identifying opportunities  for expanding Civilian Conservation Corps,  partners, and contractor support in key areas for  a shared workforce. As part of the engagement  strategy, agency personnel will discuss ideas for  sharing skills in the context of multijurisdictional  projects to avoid bottlenecks. We will also identify  and address gaps in capacity that contribute to  inequity. 

• ADDRESS KEY ENABLING CONDITIONS. Addressing  investments in key enabling conditions, in  addition to workforce capacity, includes planning  and consultation, collaborative capacity and  community engagement, transportation and  utilization of woody material from treatments,  training needs, and more. 

• DEVELOP SYSTEMS AND MEASURES. Developing  systems and measures for tracking work and  progress toward outcomes is critical. Tracking  outcomes is a known challenge. The existing  FACTS system will be our starting point for  tracking progress in work accomplished.  Through this first year, we will engage partners  and our own researchers to develop models  to compare fire growth in pretreatment and  posttreatment landscapes. Understanding the  optimal distribution of fuels mitigation work will  help decision makers as they balance competing  demands across multiple landscapes. The work  

will be planned and tracked in accordance  with the Program Management Improvement  Accountability Act, taking a holistic perspective  toward measuring success and using key  performance indicators aligned with the strategy.  

• CONTINUE FIRE-ADAPTED COMMUNITY WORK. We  will continue working to support fire-adapted  community work through planning, zoning,  and wildfire defense grants. Investments in  fire-adapted communities are a critical part  of the Cohesive Strategy and are necessary to  complement fuels and forest health work in order  to mitigate risks to people, homes, communities  and infrastructure and create resilient, fire adapted communities. 

• ADDRESS POSTFIRE RISK REDUCTION, RECOVERY,  AND REFORESTATION. We will continue to work  to address the need for postfire risk reduction,  recovery, and reforestation, including mapping,  engagement on priorities, and planning/ workforce needs. Mitigating postfire risk and  addressing reforestation and recovery is a growing  need, and work will be ongoing with partners  to identify priorities and implement projects of  critical importance. 

• MAINTAIN IMPROVED CONDITIONS. We will continue  to focus on maintaining improved conditions  over time and building long-term investment  

partnerships. This work will take repeated and  sustained investment. We are working now to  

identify the right timeframes for treatment and  develop the relationships and sustained ability  to invest during the 10-years and beyond to  

maintain reductions in risk and improved forest  health and resilience.  

• IDENTIFY AND INVEST IN ENABLING CONDITIONS. 

We will continue to focus on identifying and  

investing in enabling conditions and identifying  any gaps that need to be addressed. As we engage  with others, we will continue to refine our  

shared understanding of the enabling conditions  necessary for sustained and meaningful success,  and will work together to create solutions to  

barriers and build on opportunities for collective  impact. 

• ACKNOWLEDGE UNKNOWNS. We are committed  to learning and collaboration to advance our  

collective impact in a meaningful way. We  

know that there is much to learn, and we are  

committed to being open and transparent as we  work together with others to implement this plan  and meaningfully change the trajectory of risk to  people, communities, and natural resources and  restore fire-adapted and resilient landscapes. 

For more information and for updated information on  roundtables, please visit: www.fs.usda.gov 

The Kern Valley Hotshots assist  

with a prescribed fire in California.  

Bureau of Land Management  

photo by Michael Chiodini.

13 14 

Mogollon Rim Ranger District on the Coconino  National Forest. The Kaibab, Coconino, Apache Sitgreaves, and Tonto National Forests are part of  the Four Forest Restoration Initiative in Arizona.  USDA Forest Service photo by Brady Smith.

WILDFIRE CRISIS 

Implementation Plan 

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its  Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating  based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital  status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil  rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint  filing deadlines vary by program or incident. 

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape,  American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY)  or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in  languages other than English. 

To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at  How to File a Program Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all  of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or  letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue,  SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov. 

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.