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Wildland Fire Management: Forest Service and Interior Need to Specify Steps and a Schedule for Identifying Long-Term Options and Their Costs

GAO-05-353T Published: Feb 17, 2005. Publicly Released: Feb 17, 2005.
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Highlights

Over the past two decades, the number of acres burned by wildland fires has surged, often threatening human lives, property, and ecosystems. Past management practices, including a concerted federal policy in the 20th century of suppressing fires to protect communities and ecosystem resources, unintentionally resulted in steady accumulation of dense vegetation that fuels large, intense, wildland fires. While such fires are normal in some ecosystems, in others they can cause catastrophic damage to resources as well as to communities near wildlands known as the wildland-urban interface. GAO was asked to identify the (1) progress the federal government has made in responding to wildland fire threats and (2) challenges it will need to address within the next 5 years. This testimony is based primarily on GAO's report Wildland Fire Management: Important Progress Has Been Made, but Challenges Remain to Completing a Cohesive Strategy (GAO-05-147), released on February 14, 2005.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Interior Because there is an increasingly urgent need for a cohesive federal strategy that identifies long-term options and related funding needs for reducing fuels, the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior should provide Congress, in time for its consideration of the agencies' fiscal year 2006 wildland fire management budgets, with a joint tactical plan outlining the critical steps the agencies will take, together with related time frames, to complete such a cohesive strategy.
Closed – Not Implemented
Given the recommendation language to prepare the plan in time for the Congress's consideration of the agencies' fiscal year 2006 wildland fire management budgets and the lack of any cohesive strategy or tactical plan as of April 2008, this recommendation is now closed - not implemented.
Department of Agriculture Because there is an increasingly urgent need for a cohesive federal strategy that identifies long-term options and related funding needs for reducing fuels, the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior should provide Congress, in time for its consideration of the agencies' fiscal year 2006 wildland fire management budgets, with a joint tactical plan outlining the critical steps the agencies will take, together with related time frames, to complete such a cohesive strategy.
Closed – Not Implemented
Given the recommendation language to prepare the plan in time for the Congress's consideration of the agencies' fiscal year 2006 wildland fire management budgets and the lack of any cohesive strategy or tactical plan as of April 2008, this recommendation is now closed - not implemented.

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Topics

Data integrityFederal fundsForest managementInteragency relationsLand managementPublic landsStrategic planningWilderness areasWildfiresForest fires