Sponsors (3)
Last progress June 11, 2025 (8 months ago)
Introduced on June 11, 2025 by Joseph Neguse
Requires the Departments of Agriculture, Interior, and Homeland Security to jointly carry out a national wildfire review every four years that looks ahead 20 years. The review must analyze changes to built and natural environments, assess links between wildfire and public health, and deliver findings, recommendations, and future scenarios to specified congressional committees on a set schedule. The law formalizes quadrennial forecasting and coordinated, multi-jurisdictional planning to guide long‑term wildfire strategy.
Wildfire management is a complex, multi-jurisdictional issue that requires a whole-of-government approach before, during, and after a fire.
Wildfires spread quickly and may invoke various Federal, State, Tribal, and local jurisdictions simultaneously.
Effective wildfire management requires interagency, cross-boundary, strategic, and holistic solutions.
Relevant Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments should be included in any planning, decision-making, or response activities with respect to wildfire management.
A purpose of a quadrennial fire review is to forecast conditions that may present the greatest challenges for wildland fire management throughout the 20-year period immediately following such review and inform the development of long-term, strategic actions to address such challenges.
Primary impacts fall on federal land and emergency management agencies that must collect data, coordinate across jurisdictions, and produce the quadrennial reports. The review process will also engage State, Tribal, and local governments, public health agencies, and community planners to provide input and to use resulting guidance. Wildland firefighters and incident management teams may see operational benefits from clearer, forward-looking scenario planning. Communities in fire-prone areas could gain improved long-term planning and public-health preparedness informed by the reviews. Because the bill sets analysis and reporting requirements without specifying new funding, agencies may need to absorb workload with existing resources or seek appropriations later to support expanded analysis, stakeholder engagement, and implementation of recommendations.
Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Science, Space, and Technology, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Updated 2 days ago
Last progress June 11, 2025 (8 months ago)