The Biden administration said last year’s relatively calm year for wildfires in the U.S. allowed federal agencies to better prepare forests for future wildfires.
In a memo to agencies with wildfire responsibilities, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said their departments reduced record levels of potential wildfire fuel on federal forests in 2023, a narrative at odds with criticisms from Republicans in Congress.
“The low number of acres burned compared with recent years allowed us to complete historic levels of hazardous fuels treatments and the highest-ever acreage of prescribed fire application,” the secretaries said in the May 20 memo, which laid out the Biden administration’s strategy for the coming height of the annual wildfire season.
Vilsack and Haaland wrote to the Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service. The USDA and the DOI noted the memo in a news release Monday, which said the agencies treated 6.85 million acres for hazardous fuels in 2023 and hope to employ more than 17,000 wildfire personnel in 2024.
