$50 Billion 'Wildfire Risk Strategy' Targets the Wildland-Urban Interface

The U.S. Department of Agriculture in January announced an ambitious, and only partially funded, new plan to reduce wildfire risks for communities around the United States.

2 minute read

January 31, 2022, 9:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Wildfire

Max Dunlap / Shutterstock

The Biden administration recently announced a new federal program, with funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), to thin forests and reduce wildfire risk on 50 million acres in the United States.

A "Wildfire Risk Strategy" [pdf] announced in January by the U.S. Department of Agriculture would spend an estimated $20 billion over 10 years for work in national forests, in addition to $30 billion for work on other federal, state, tribal, and private lands.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsak announced the plan, with the longer title "Confronting the Wildfire Crisis: A Strategy for Protecting Communities and Improving Resilience in America’s Forests," with a press release on January 18.

"The strategy outlines the need to significantly increase fuels and forest health treatments to address the escalating crisis of wildfire danger that threatens millions of acres and numerous communities across the United States," according to the press release.

In addition to the new levels of funding, the plan also proposes a change to wildfire prevention strategy by focusing risk mitigation at the wildland-urban interface—specifically what Forest Service scientists have identified as high risk "firesheds, described by the press release as "large, forested landscapes with a high likelihood that an ignition could expose homes, communities, infrastructure and natural resources to wildfire."

As noted in an article by Alyssa Lupkat for the New York Times, the Agriculture Department is proposing to spend $655 million annually on forests for the first five years of the new Wildfire Risk Strategy. "That money would be added to $262 million that the U.S. Forest Service had already allocated to the task for this year," according to Lupkat. With an initial $3 billion from the IIJA, the full $50 billion of spending proposed by the ten-year plan has not yet been allocated.

Tuesday, January 18, 2022 in U.S. Department of Agriculture

Black and white Rideshare Pick-Up Zone sign

The Slow Death of Ride Sharing

From the beginning, TNCs like Lyft and Uber touted shared rides as their key product. Now, Lyft is ending the practice.

June 1, 2023 - Human Transit

Urban sidewalk shaded by large mature trees

Cool Walkability Planning

Shadeways (covered sidewalks) and pedways (enclosed, climate controlled walkways) can provide comfortable walkability in hot climates. The Cool Walkshed Index can help plan these facilities.

June 1, 2023 - Todd Litman

Traffic on the 405 interstate freeway through the Sepulveda Pass at Getty Center Drive in Los Angeles, California

Congestion Pricing Could Be Coming to L.A.

The infamously car-centric city is weighing a proposed congestion pricing pilot program to reduce traffic and encourage public transit use.

May 30, 2023 - Los Angeles Times

Two blue and white tents on a paved bike trail under an overpass in San Diego, California with palm tree and vegetation on one side

How San Diego Camping Ban Could Impact Neighborhoods

An ordinance supported by the city’s mayor would bar people from sleeping on the street near shelters or services, but critics say it will simply push people to other neighborhoods and put them farther away from the supportive services they need.

June 8 - Voice of San Diego

Small white one-story building with Maggie Hathaway Golf Course sign with American flag on flagpole and green lawn

Expanding Access to Golf in South Los Angeles

L.A. County’s Maggie Hathaway Golf Course getting up to $15 Million from U.S. Open Community Legacy Project to expand access to the sport in South L.A.

June 8 - Los Angeles Times

Wood-frame two-story housing under construction

Opinion: Failed Housing Bills Could Signal California-Style Housing Crisis in Texas

Legislators in a state that so often touts its policies as the opposite of California’s defeated several bills that would have made housing construction easier, leading to concerns that a constricted housing market may exacerbate the housing crisis.

June 8 - The Dallas Morning News

Principal Planner – Advanced Plans

Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department

Planning Officer

City of Bangor

Planning Director

Park City Municipal Corporation

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.