March 10, 2022 | Cole Karr

The application period is now open to join a federal commission focused on developing recommendations to policymakers on wildfire mitigation and recovery.

The Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission is charged with recommending short- and long-term policies and strategies to federal lawmakers for preventing, mitigating, suppressing, and managing wildfire. The U.S. departments of Agriculture (USDA), Homeland Security (DHS), and Interior (DOI) will coordinate the commission, which will also offer recommendations for the rehabilitation of fire-ravaged lands.

NSDC encourages special district representatives with expertise and experience in wildfire preparedness, mitigation, suppression, or management to consider answering the Administration’s call for nominations. The application period opened March 10 and closes March 25. Click here to access the application via Microsoft Forms.

Eighteen non-federal applicants will be named to the commission. Additionally, the commission will consist of each department’s leadership; representatives from the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and representatives from the National Wildfire Coordination Group and Resource Support Function Leadership Group.

Selected individuals should anticipate committing 10-15 hours per month for commission duties, which will include attending meetings, strategic planning, and development of the congressional reports to be completed over the course of 12 months. USDA, DHS, and DOI will provide resources to assist members with coordination and facilitation of their duties through the duration of the commission.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) authorized the committee. The law also allows more than $3 billion in resources to address wildfire mitigation and forest management, which is among the provisions NSDC highlighted in an August letter to Congressional leadership supporting IIJA.

More information on the commission and the nomination process is found on the USDA’s commission webpage.

Districts with questions on the commission or that are applying for the commission are encouraged to inform the Coalition and may do so by contacting Cole Karr, NSDC Federal Advocacy Coordinator.