With the recent signing of Secretarial Order (SO) 3443, “Elevating and Unifying the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Wildland Fire Management Program,” and Executive Order (EO) 14308, “Empowering Commonsense Wildfire Prevention and Response,” the Department of the Interior is taking significant steps to streamline and strengthen its wildfire management capabilities.
These initiatives aim to improve the Department’s effectiveness in wildland fire response, while also promoting locally informed, technology-enabled strategies for land management and wildfire mitigation.
As outlined in SO 3443, the Department’s Wildland Fire Management Program provides fire mitigation and response services across more than 500 million acres of public and Tribal lands. These lands are managed by:
- The Bureau of Indian Affairs
- The Bureau of Land Management
- The National Park Service
- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
As the Department plans for the most efficient and effective use of wildland fire offices, coordinating bodies, programs, budgets, procurement processes, and research, and, as necessary, recommends additional measures specific to servicing Tribes, it is critical to obtain Tribal perspectives.
