NEWS RELEASES
U.S. Forest Service Prepares For Next Wildfire And Other Epidemics
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through USDA Forest Service's website.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service (USFS) announced today a new strategy - in the form of a PDF report titled Toward Shared Stewardship across Landscapes: An Outcome-based Investment Strategy - for managing catastrophic wildfires and the impacts of invasive species, drought, and insect and disease epidemics. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue visited California last week and saw the destruction occurring and had this statement to say: "We commit to work more closely with the states to reduce the frequency and severity of wildfires. We commit to strengthening the stewardship of public and private lands. This report outlines our strategy and intent to help one another prevent wildfire from reaching this level.”
Federal and private managers of forest land face a range of urgent challenges, among them catastrophic wildfires, invasive species, degraded watersheds, and epidemics of forest insects and disease. Of particular concern are longer fire seasons, the rising size and severity of wildfires, and the expanding risk to communities, natural resources, and firefighters. “The challenges before us require a new approach,” said Interim USFS Chief Vicki Christiansen in a USDA press release. A key component of the new strategy is to prioritize investment decisions on forest treatments in direct coordination with states using the most advanced science tools.
View the complete strategy available at the USDA Forest Service website.