Blog Archive

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Members of a Yosemite helitack crew work around a helicopter in a grassy field. Trees border the field, with smoke rising from their midst. Mountains rise in the distance under a stormy sky. Photo by Yosemite National Park.

Director’s Report: Laying the Foundation for Significant New Investments in Wildfire Management through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

11/29/2022

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed one year ago, provides a once-in-a-generation investment to help tackle the climate crisis and improve the resiliency of our lands to wildfire. In 2022, it helped the Interior Department lay the foundation for significant additional investments in wildfire management.

Members of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe fire management team stand in a leaf-strewn clearing staring at the camera with determined expressions. Behind them is a dense, mixed stand of trees and two vehicles. Photo by Claire Everett, The Nature Conservancy.

How One Tribe is Restoring the Fire-dependent Longleaf Pine

11/17/2022

This Native American Heritage Month, we’re highlighting stories of Indigenous fire practices. The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas has a deep cultural connection to the longleaf pine. It has vanished from many areas. The Tribe is striving to preserve this fire-dependent species and recently received an award for those efforts.

Commander KJ Green with the U.S. Public Health Service has accepted an assignment with Interior’s Office of Wildland Fire as the wildland firefighter behavioral health clinical administrator.

Creating a Wildland Firefighter Health and Wellbeing Program: Meet Commander KJ Green

11/09/2022

Wildland firefighters have unique physical and mental health needs. The Interior and Agriculture departments are working together to establish a program to address those needs. Meet Commander KJ Green with the U.S. Public Health Service, who recently accepted an assignment with the Interior Department to support this effort.

In 2019, the Joint Fire Science Program funded research to compile a unified database of wildland firefighter entrapments and improve our knowledge of factors leading to these situations. This is one example of how JFSP funding is furthering wildland fire

Furthering Research in Wildland Fire Science: Now Seeking Funding Proposals

10/24/2022

The Joint Fire Science Program funds important research to help land managers, practitioners, and policymakers proactively address wildfires. The Joint Fire Science Program is soliciting proposals for funding to advance wildfire research and support land management agencies.

Wildland fire resource advisors study a map showing the outline of a wildfire and the surrounding area during a briefing. Photo by Cedar Drake, NPS.

As Wildfires Grow, the National Park Service Increases Efforts to Protect Natural and Cultural Resources

10/20/2022

As wildfires increase in frequency and severity, more natural and cultural resources are at risk. Resource advisors help firefighting personnel protect them. The National Park Service’s online course trained hundreds of resource advisors this year, and it will be offered again in the spring of 2023.

A plane seen from below dropping water on the Clear Fire in Fairbanks, Alaska, against an orange, smoke-filled sky. Photo by Eric Kiehn, Kittitas County Fire District 1.

Interior Invests $180 Million through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2022 to Improve Wildfire Mitigation and Resilience

10/06/2022

The Interior Department invested $180 million nationwide in wildfire management through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2022. These investments are providing pay improvements for federal wildland firefighters, supporting efforts to reduce wildfire risk, helping rehabilitate burned landscapes, and more.

A dramatic sunset paints the sky in yellows, pinks, and blues as a backdrop to Saguaro National Park and its namesake cactus. Photo by Nate Hovee.

Protecting and Restoring the Sonoran Desert Ecosystem in Saguaro National Park

09/30/2022

Buffelgrass is propelling more frequent, intense wildfires and threatening native species, like the Saguaro cactus. Controlling this invasive is an intensive process. Saguaro National Park is expanding its efforts with the help of funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Firefighters from BLM’s Kingman District in Arizona seen from behind hiking with gear as part of a mock fire exercise. Photo by Suzanne Allman, BLM contractor.

Director’s Report: Addressing Wildfires Together through Widescale Mitigation and Personal Precautions

09/07/2022

Nearly 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by people. Even small precautions taken by individuals can play a significant role in reducing wildfires. Together with ongoing work by the Interior Department and our partners to address our new norm of more extreme wildfires, these efforts will improve our ability to live with fire.

Six members of the all-women conservation corps fire crew at Yosemite National Park pose for a photo at a park viewpoint. (Photo by NPS.)

A National Park Service Pilot Program Introduces Young Women to Careers in Wildland Fire

08/26/2022

Women in the United States have been fighting fires for centuries. Nevertheless, they are underrepresented in firefighting positions across local, state, and federal agencies. Last summer, the National Park Service launched a pilot program to give young women experience in wildland fire management, and are now building on its success.

Group of U.S. army soldiers trained on the Dixie Fire.

Helping Seasoned Wildland Fire Professionals Train the Next Generation

08/22/2022

One of the greatest challenges in wildland fire education is that individual instructors also have day jobs, and opportunities to learn how to be better teachers have been limited. A new partnership with the University of Kentucky’s Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching provided an opportunity this spring for wildland fire instructors to improve their teaching techniques so they can help the next generation of wildland fire professionals develop new skills.

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