2020 Sierra National Forest Creek Fire in California
Credit: USFS
Commission members will recommend strategies to tackle national wildfire crisis
July 7, 2022 - WASHINGTON — Today, the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, and Homeland Security through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are announcing the selection of members to the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission.
Established by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and announced in December 2021, the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission will play a key role in recommending ways that federal agencies can better prevent, mitigate, suppress and manage wildland fires. It will also recommend policies and strategies on how to restore the lands affected by wildfire.
The call for nominations for the non-federal members was issued in March. More than 500 applications were received, and 36 non-federal members -- 18 primary and 18 alternates -- have been selected to serve on the commission. Along with 11 federal members, the commission will be co-chaired by Departments of the Interior, Agriculture and FEMA leadership. Commission members represent federal agencies, Tribes, state and local municipalities, and private entities, as directed by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Details on commission members are available at the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission website.
The commission will prepare a report with policy recommendations and submit them to Congress within a year of its first in-person meeting in August. A virtual introductory call is scheduled for this month. The Departments of the Interior, Agriculture and FEMA will provide support and resources to assist the commission with coordination and facilitation of their duties.
The commission’s work will build on existing interagency federal efforts such as the Wildland Fire Leadership Council and the White House Wildfire Resilience Interagency Working Group and will continue to pursue a whole-of-government approach to wildfire risk reduction and resilience. Its creation comes at an important time as shifting development patterns, land and fire management decisions, and climate change have turned fire “seasons” into fire “years” in which increasingly destructive fires are exceeding available federal firefighting resources.
In addition to establishing the commission, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides historic funding for a suite of programs aimed at reducing wildfire risks, detecting wildfires, instituting firefighter workforce reforms and building more resilient infrastructure.
This year, the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture have allocated an initial $234 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investments for wildfire resilience efforts and established a new joint mental wellness program to equip federal wildland firefighters with post-traumatic stress disorder care and address environmental hazards to minimize on-the-job exposure.
These investments support efforts to implement the Department of the Interior’s “Five-Year Monitoring, Maintenance, and Treatment Plan,” which aligns with the USDA Forest Service’s “Confronting the Wildfire Crisis” strategy and provides a roadmap for addressing wildfire risk on Department and Tribal lands.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also supports landmark pay increases for federal wildland firefighters, announced on June 21, which aim to bring federal firefighter pay in alignment with their state and local counterparts, while aiding in recruitment and retention of a more permanent and stable wildland firefighting force across the federal government.
Source: DOI
Details on commission members:
Federal Co-Chairs
|
Department |
Co-Chair |
|---|---|
|
Department of Agriculture |
Secretary Thomas Vilsack |
|
Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) |
Administrator Deanne Criswell |
|
Department of Interior |
Secretary Deb Haaland |
Federal Members
|
Agency |
Name |
Title |
|---|---|---|
|
Bureau of Indian Affairs |
Johnna Blackhair |
Deputy Director |
|
Bureau of Land Management |
Mike Nedd |
Deputy Director Ops |
|
Environmental Protection Agency |
Erika Sasser |
Director of Health and Environmental Impacts, Office of Air and Radiation |
|
FEMA- Mitigation Framework Leadership Group (MitFLG) |
Angela Gladwell |
Director Hazard Mitigation Assistance |
|
FEMA- Recovery Support Function Leadership Group (RSFLG) |
Ana Montero |
Director Public Assistance Division |
|
National Park Service |
Jennifer Flynn |
Associate Director Visitor and Resource Protection |
|
National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) |
Shane McDonald |
Executive Director |
|
US Fish and Wildlife Service |
Cynthia Martinez |
Chief National Wildlife Refuge System |
|
US Forest Service |
Jaelith Hall-Rivera |
Deputy Chief, State and Private Forestry |
|
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) |
Joannie Chin |
Director, Engineering Laboratory |
|
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) |
John Murphy |
Chief Operating Officer for the National Weather Service |
Non-Federal Members
|
Seat |
Name, Title, State (Primary Member) |
Name, Title, State (Alternate Member) |
|---|---|---|
|
Kathy Holder, Utah State Hazard Mitigation Officer, UT |
Tim Cook, Washington State Hazard Mitigation Officer, WA |
|
Sonya Germann, Montana State Forester/Forestry Division Administrator, MT |
Dan Gibbs, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, CO |
|
Elizabeth (Eli) King, Washington State Energy Emergency Management Director, WA |
David Fogerson, Nevada Emergency Manager and Homeland Security Chief, NV |
|
Lucinda Andreani, Deputy County Manager, Coconino County, AZ |
William (Bill) Cox, Rich County Commissioner, UT |
|
Kathleen (Kat) McIntyre, Forest Health Program Manager, PhD, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, CA |
Neil Chapman, Flagstaff Watershed Protection Project Manager, AZ |
|
Madelene McDonald, Senior Watershed Scientist, Denver Water, CO |
Andy Fecko, General Manager, Placer County Water Agency, CA |
|
David Sampson, CEO of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, TX |
Michele Steinberg, Wildfire Division Director, National Fire Protection Association, MA |
|
Bill Tripp, Director of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy, Karuk Tribe, CA |
Gary Jackson, Tribal Vice-Chairman, Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, OR |
|
Kelly Martin, President of Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, ID |
Nathan Miller, Wildland Superintendent for the City of Santa Fe Fire Department, NM |
|
Marek Smith, North America Fire Director for The Nature Conservancy, NC |
Scott Miller, Senior Regional Director for the Southwest Region, The Wilderness Society, CO |
|
Cody Desautel, Natural Resource Director, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, WA |
Neal Ewald, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Green Diamond Resource Company, CA |
|
Kimiko Barrett, PhD Senior wildfire researcher and policy analyst, Headwaters Economics, MT |
Scott Stephens, PhD, Professor of Fire Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA |
|
Jessica Morse, Deputy Secretary for Forest and Wildland Resilience, California Natural Resources Agency, CA |
Ann Bartuska, PhD, Senior Contributing Scientist, Environmental Defense Fund and Senior Advisor, Resources for the Future, Washington DC |
|
John Weir, Associate Extension Specialist, Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Oklahoma State University, OK |
Craig Thomas, Director, The Fire Restoration Group, CA |
|
Sam Cook, Executive Director of Forest Assets & Vice President, NC State University Natural Resources Foundation, NC |
Brian Kittler, Senior Director of Forest Restoration, American Forests, OR |
|
Jamiah Adams, Senior Vice President of Diversity and Justice, The Climate Reality Project, CA |
Kari Nadeau, MD/PhD, Director of the Sean N. Parker Center of Allergy and Asthma Research, Stanford University, CA |
|
Jim Hubbard, retiree, USDA NRE Under Secretary/US Forest Service Deputy Chief, CO |
Bob Roper, Senior Policy Advisor, Western Fire Chiefs Association, CA |
|
Mariana Ruiz-Temple, Oregon State Fire Marshal, OR |
Mike Morgan, Division Director, Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, CO |
