Wildland Fire Management Additional Actions Required To Better Identify And Prioritize Lands Needing Fuels Reduction

The nation's wildland fire problems have worsened dramatically over the past decade, with more than a doubling of average annual acreage burned and federal appropriations for wildland fire management. The deteriorating fire situation has led the agencies responsible for managing wildland fires on federal lands -- the Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture and four agencies in the Department of the Interior -- to reassess how they respond to wildland fire and to take steps to improve their fire management programs. This report reviewed: (1) progress the agencies have made in managing wildland fire; and (2) key actions previously recommended and are still necessary to improve wildland fire management. Charts and tables.

This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. Increases in the number and intensity of wildland fires have led the Forest Service (FS) to place greater emphasis on thinning forests and rangelands to reduce the buildup of potentially hazardous vegetation that can fuel wildland fires. The public can file a formal objection to a proposed decision, or can appeal a decision the agency has already made. This report determined, for FY 2006-2008; (1) the number of FS fuel reduction decisions and the associated acreage; (2) the number of decisions subject to appeal and objection, the number appealed, objected to, and litigated, and the associated acreage; and (3) the outcomes of appeals, objections, and litigation, and the extent to which they were processed within prescribed time frames. Illustrations.