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A firefighter works on a prescribed fire at sunset in southern Florida. Photo by NPS.

A New Study Gives Federal Wildland Firefighters an Opportunity to Inform the Development of Health and Wellbeing Programs

07/14/2022

This summer, federal wildland firefighters with the Interior and Agriculture departments are invited to participate in a rigorous scientific study of firefighter health and wellbeing, including occupational hazards and mental health impacts. This study by the CDC National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and UC Berkley will enable wildland fire agencies to hear directly from the firefighters impacted by the growing demands of more frequent, severe wildland fires.

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Aravaipa Veterans Interagency Hotshot Crew member contemplates a partially burned forest during the 2021 Caldor Fire. Photo by Joe Bradshaw, BLM.

Investing in More Robust Mental Health Support for Wildland Firefighters

06/30/2022

Wildland firefighters work in arduous, stressful environments that can take a significant toll on mental health. With support from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Interior and Agriculture departments have begun work to establish a program to recognize and address the mental health needs for federal wildland firefighters.

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Greater sage-grouse in a field at dawn. Photo by Steve Fairbairn, USFWS.

A Project to Improve Sage-grouse Habitat in Idaho is also Reducing Wildfire Risk

06/23/2022

A robust collaboration among federal, state, and local agencies in Idaho is working toward shared conservation stewardship of sagebrush habitat on 1.67 million acres. This project is not only creating a more resilient landscape, promoting plant diversity, and benefiting species like sage-grouse, it is also reducing the risk of severe wildfires. And the work is accelerating with additional funding provided through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

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Smokejumpers prepare to board plane at the National Interagency Fire Center in Idaho. Photo by Neal Herbert, DOI.

Director’s Report: Expanding Multijurisdictional Efforts to Mitigate Wildfire Risk

06/06/2022

Over the past decade, the Interior Department has invested more than $2 billion to implement fuel treatments that reduce the risk to communities and ecosystems from wildfires before they start and to conduct post-fire rehabilitation to set landscapes back on the path to recovery. Moving forward, we will significantly expand these activities while the work of our partners to restore healthy fire regimes strengthens and extends these mitigation efforts across boundaries.

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A 2019 fire at Keālia Pond National Wildlife Refuge.

Post-Fire Recovery Efforts Help Restore Keālia Pond National Wildlife Refuge

05/31/2022

In May, we celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Known for their lush, tropical, humid climate, the Hawaiian Islands typically do not conjure images of wildfires, but wildfires do occur on the islands. After the 2019 Central Maui Fire burned 10,000 acres, including a portion of the Keālia Pond National Wildlife Refuge, the U.S. Fish and Wildfire Service has been helping the area recover and establish a drought- and fire-resistant corridor.

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A duff workshop offered by the Southern Fire Exchange in 2019. Photo by David Godwin, the Southern Fire Exchange.

Scientists Help Re-introduce Healthy Fire in Florida Forests

04/14/2022

Restoring healthy fire to long-unburned forests is a complex process. When trees began to die after prescribed fires in Florida, research funded by the Joint Fire Science Program identified the cause, and the Southern Fire Exchange Network helped local land managers act on the findings to restore healthy ecosystems.

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