USDA Forest Service News

The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry's (DACF) Maine Forest Service (MFS) has been awarded two Community Wildfire Defense Grants (CWDG) to support at-risk communities in Northern and Downeast Maine. These grants, totaling $258,000 ($141,000 and $117,000, respectively), will safeguard homes, businesses, forestland, and infrastructure from catastrophic wildfires. Both regions face significant wildfire risks and are considered underserved. Competitive CWDG awards Maine is New...

The Biden-Harris administration’s Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission has released a report outlining a strategy to meet aerial firefighting equipment needs through 2030. As climate change fuels longer and more intense wildfire seasons, aerial assets bring unique response capabilities to wildland fire suppression. The report re-examines existing approaches to aviation fleet procurement, mobilization, composition and quantity to set aviation management on a new trajectory fo...

The National Interagency Fire Center has requested one C-130 aircraft and aircrew from the 152nd Airlift Wing, Nevada Air National Guard, to aid firefighting efforts around the western U.S. Assisting firefighting efforts “This activation highlights the important role the military plays in assisting federal, civilian firefighting efforts, especially with that need coming much earlier this year than past years to combat increased fire activity across the American West,” said Col. Jer...

While wildfires can be beneficial and necessary for some species and ecosystems, there are various negative impacts on our air, water, and land, as well as, subsequent impacts for human health. Given the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) mission to protect human health and the environment, the EPA’s Wildland Fire Research focuses on the impacts these fires have on human health and ecosystems. Examining ambient air quality EPA researchers are examining the worsening of a...

Four C-130 aircraft from the California and Nevada Air National Guard, worked alongside the U.S. Forest Service, during annual refresher and certification training with the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS), from May 4 – May 7, 2021. During the training, these aircraft, equipped with MAFFS units, practiced dispersing water in rugged, mountainous terrain, as they are guided by lead planes flown by members of the U.S. Forest Service. Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System MAFFS...

In the dry heat of the high desert, the California and Nevada Air National Guard, the U.S. Forest Service, CAL FIRE, and multiple other fire-fighting agencies across the United States are performing their annual certification training for the aerial fire-fighting mission with MAFFS (Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System), from May 4 – May 7, 2021. The success of this training is built on the trusted partnerships between the fire-fighting agencies, having forged their tactical expertise su...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture will invest $285 million to help the Forest Service address critical deferred maintenance and improve transportation and recreation infrastructure on national forests and grasslands. This $285 million investment is made possible by the newly created National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund, established in 2020 by the Great American Outdoors Act. These funds will allow the Forest Service to implement mor...

The flames and billowing smoke rose high enough to veil as an acre of bone-dry grasslands was ignited by a slow, fiery ooze belching from something called a drip torch. The initial wave of heat could have easily seared the clothing of the sturdy crew of firefighters who purposely set this section of land aflame, but they knew which way the wind was blowing and lit accordingly. That is what a prescribed burn looks like. USDA Forest Service employees repeat similar scenarios on national...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest more than $46 million through the Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership for projects that mitigate wildfire risk, improve water quality, and restore healthy forest ecosystems on public and private lands. Funding for 37 projects includes $13 million for eight new projects and $33.3 million to complete work on 29 projects previously selected in 2019 and 2020. Through the projects, USDA’s Forest Service (FS) and Natura...

Despite challenges posed by the pandemic, the USDA Forest Service today announced it surpassed goals and set records in 2020.   "2020 was a challenging year, with record wildland fire activity and the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the Forest Service, we have risen above these challenges and set our minds, hands and hearts to carrying out our mission to meet the needs of the communities we serve," said Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen. The Forest Service relied on its strong science...

The USDA Forest Service seeks public input on two proposed directives that would address safety and reliability for powerline operations on national forests and grasslands. The proposed directives would implement provisions in the 2018 Farm Bill and amendments made in 2018 to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. The proposed directives also align with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue’s direction to make national forests and grasslands healthier and more productive. The pr...

Public and firefighter safety is the number one priority at the Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) in Missoula, Mont. The Fire, Fuel, and Smoke Science Program there seeks to develop tools and technology that can help protect people and communities before, during, and after wildfires. RMRS develops and delivers innovative science and technology to improve the health and use of the nation’s forests and grasslands. Their scientists put tools and knowledge into the hands of managers who...

The Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003 was the initiating legislation for the development of Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). This legislation encourages communities to develop these plans to help reduce their risk to wildfire loss, as well as create healthier natural ecosystems. The ambiguity in the legislation allows communities to develop effective plans that are relevant to their conditions and can change as community capacity, and other conditions change. Why it is important...

California and Nevada Air National Guards brought out their heavy assets June 15-19, 2020, in preparation for each state’s biggest annual enemies i.e. wildfires. wildland firefighting training A slew of C-130 Hercules aircraft from both western states filled the skies above Tahoe National Forest in Forest Hill, California, during U.S. Department of Agriculture Forestry Service-sponsored wildland firefighting training. With multiple state and federal organizations participating, the Cal...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service is investing in rural economies, reducing wildfire risk, and improving forest conditions by awarding $7.62 million in grants as part of the agency’s Wood Innovations Grant program.  Program opportunities  The Wood Innovations Grant program advances innovations in wood products that create jobs, revitalize local economies, and support sustainable forest land management. Thirty-five business, non-profit, university and tri...

For the first time, community wildfire risk has been mapped nationwide to help community leaders mitigate risk. The USDA Forest Service announced the free, interactive, easy-to-use website, Wildfire Risk to Communities. This website is designed to help community leaders nationwide understand how wildfire risk varies across a state, region, or county and allow them to prioritize actions to protect their communities. The Forest Service is leading the Wildfire Risk to Communities project...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will invest more than $41 million this fiscal year through the Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership for projects that mitigate wildfire risk, improve water quality and restore healthy forest ecosystems on public and private lands. Funding for 36 projects includes $10.6 million for 16 new projects and $30.5 million to complete work on 20 projects previously selected in 2018 and 2019. Through the projects, USDA’s Forest Service (FS) and Na...

Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Director Kelly Susewind, USDA Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen, and Regional Forester Glenn Casamassa signed a Shared Stewardship Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), calling it a model for other states to follow. The MOU, only the second of its kind in the nation, establishes a framework for Washington state and the USDA Forest Service to work collaboratively toward mutual goals and effectively re...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will invest more than $12 million this year to mitigate wildfire risk, improve water quality and restore healthy forest ecosystems through targeted projects on both public and private lands in nine states. Since 2014, USDA has invested $213 million in 69 Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership Projects, which focus on areas where public forests and grasslands intersect with privately-owned lands. Vicki Christiansen, Chief of the Forest Service, a...

Forest Service is supporting fire suppression efforts in California, where two massive wildfires burn at opposite ends of the state. Both fires started on November 8. “The people of California are in need of our support,” said James Hubbard, Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment. “USDA’s Forest Service firefighters and law enforcement are standing shoulder to shoulder with our citizens, state and local partners to help communities recover and stop the dev...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service (USFS) announced a new strategy for managing catastrophic wildfires and the impacts of invasive species, drought, and insect and disease epidemics. Specifically, a new report titled Toward Shared Stewardship across Landscapes: An Outcome-based investment Strategy outlines the USFS’s plans to work more closely with states to identify landscape-scale priorities for targeted treatments in areas with the highest payoffs. Reducing The S...

A new report by USDA Forest Service researchers provides science-based information to help decision-makers, practitioners, and researchers to promote the sustainable harvest of non-timber forest products. The Assessment of Non-timber Forest Products in the United States under Changing Conditions synthesizes the best available science for managing non-timber forest resources in the U.S. “Many private landowners harvest non-timber products to generate income from their forests,&rd...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest nearly $32 million to mitigate wildfire risk, improve water quality and restore healthy forest ecosystems in 24 states and Puerto Rico. Since 2014, USDA has invested $176 million in 56 Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership Projects, which focus on areas where public forests and grasslands intersect with privately-owned lands. "Through Joint Chiefs, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) works with agricultural...