Wildland Fire Management Lack Of Clear Goals Or A Strategy Hinders Federal Agencies Efforts To Contain The Costs Of Fighting Fires

Wildland Fire Management: Lack of Clear Goals or a Strategy Hinders Federal Agencies' Efforts to Contain the Costs of Fighting Fires

Our nation¿s wildland fire problems have worsened in the past decade. The Forest Service and four agencies within the Dept. of the Interior are responsible for managing fires on fed. lands. Fed. appropriations to these agencies for wildland fire mgmt. have more than doubled since the late 1990s, averaging $2.9 billion annually in recent years. Rising wildland fire costs have challenged the agencies to meet their land mgmt. responsibilities. This testimony discusses: (1) the budgetary and programmatic effects of the increasing cost of fire mgmt. activities; and (2) steps the agencies could take to help contain wildland fire expenditures and steps they could take, and Congress could consider, to reduce the need to transfer funds from other programs. Illus.

The nation's wildland fire problems have worsened dramatically over the past decade, with more than a doubling of both the average annual acreage burned and fed. appropriations for wildland fire mgmt. The deteriorating fire situation has led the agencies responsible for managing wildland fires on fed. lands -- the Forest Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Mgmt. (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service -- to reassess how they respond to wildland fire and to take steps to improve their fire mgmt. programs. This testimony discusses: (1) progress the agencies have made in managing wildland fire; and (2) key actions the auditor believes are still necessary to improve their wildland fire mgmt. Illustrations.