The wildfire crisis has become all too evident in recent years. Decades of fire exclusion, combined with reduced management on federal lands, has led to a dangerous accumulation of natural fuels that create ladders which enable fires to reach the crowns of trees. A drier weather cycle in some regions has further exacerbated fire conditions. Adding to the complexity of the wildfire challenge is the growing wildland urban interface (i.e., the area where developments come into contact with undeveloped land), which increases the wildfire risk to people and homes.
In the West, land ownership is often a checkerboard that includes federal, state, county, and a wide range of private forest owners. This creates unique challenges in firefighting coordination and response. One measure identified to address the crisis was a change of approach in firefighting by enabling the use of a broader range of resources. Throughout 2022, we worked with the National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) on dialogue with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) regarding opportunities to enhance wildfire response capabilities.
Through NAFO, we worked on a memorandum of understanding (MOU), which was signed by early 2023, creating a partnership to enhance cooperation between private working forest owners and public land managers during wildfires. The partnership between USFS and NAFO members allows private resources to fight fires in areas of adjacent ownership with National Forest System lands. The MOU is a first-of-its-kind firefighting partnership.
During 2023, we worked, along with NAFO and our peers, to build on the fire suppression MOU through developing a second MOU with USFS. The second MOU was signed in early 2024 and seeks to mitigate wildfire risk through cross-boundary fuel break planning, construction, and maintenance. The MOU provides the framework for coordinating public and private fire mitigation strategies by enabling the construction of National Environmental Policy Act-ready fuel breaks on National Forest System lands as an extension to fuel breaks on adjacent privately owned forests.
