Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 4 / Monday, January 7, 2019 / Presidential Documents 45 

Executive Order 13855 of December 21, 2018 

Promoting Active Management of America’s Forests, Rangelands, and Other Federal Lands To Improve Conditions and 

Reduce Wildfire Risk 

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the 

laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: 

Section 1. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to protect people, 

communities, and watersheds, and to promote healthy and resilient forests, 

rangelands, and other Federal lands by actively managing them through 

partnerships with States, tribes, communities, non-profit organizations, and 

the private sector. For decades, dense trees and undergrowth have amassed 

in these lands, fueling catastrophic wildfires. These conditions, along with 

insect infestation, invasive species, disease, and drought, have weakened 

our forests, rangelands, and other Federal lands, and have placed communities and homes at risk of damage from catastrophic wildfires. 

Active management of vegetation is needed to treat these dangerous conditions on Federal lands but is often delayed due to challenges associated 

with regulatory analysis and current consultation requirements. In addition, 

land designations and policies can reduce emergency responder access to 

Federal land and restrict management practices that can promote wildfireresistant landscapes. With the same vigor and commitment that characterizes 

our efforts to fight wildfires, we must actively manage our forests, rangelands, 

and other Federal lands to improve conditions and reduce wildfire risk. 

In recognition of these regulatory, policy, and coordinating challenges, the 

Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretaries) 

each shall implement the following policies in their respective departments: 

(a) Shared Management Priorities. The goal of Federal fire management 

policy for forests, rangelands, and other Federal lands shall be to agree 

on a set of shared priorities with Federal land managers, States, tribes, 

and other landowners to manage fire risk across landscapes. 

(b) Coordinating Federal, State, Tribal, and Local Assets. Wildfire prevention and suppression and post-wildfire restoration require a variety of assets 

and skills across landscapes. Federal, State, tribal, and local governments 

should coordinate the deployment of appropriate assets and skills to restore 

our landscapes and communities after damage caused by fires and to help 

reduce hazardous fuels through active forest management in order to protect 

communities, critical infrastructure, and natural and cultural resources. 

(c) Removing Hazardous Fuels, Increasing Active Management, and Supporting Rural Economies. Post-fire assessments show that reducing vegetation 

through hazardous fuel management and strategic forest health treatments 

is effective in reducing wildfire severity and loss. Actions must be taken 

across landscapes to prioritize treatments in order to enhance fuel reduction 

and forest-restoration projects that protect life and property, and to benefit 

rural economies through encouraging utilization of the by-products of forest 

restoration. 

Sec. 2. Goals. (a) To protect communities and watersheds, to better prevent 

catastrophic wildfires, and to improve the health of America’s forests, rangelands, and other Federal lands, the Secretaries shall each develop goals 

and implementation plans for wildfire prevention activities and programs 

in their respective departments. In the development of such goals and plans: 


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46 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 4 / Monday, January 7, 2019 / Presidential Documents 

(i) The Secretary of the Interior shall review the Secretary’s 2019 budget 

justifications and give all due consideration to establishing the following 

objectives for 2019, as feasible and appropriate in light of those budget 

justifications, and consistent with applicable law and available 

appropriations: 

(A) Treating 750,000 acres of Department of the Interior (DOI)-administered lands to reduce fuel loads; 

(B) Treating 500,000 acres of DOI-administered lands to protect water 

quality and mitigate severe flooding and erosion risks arising from forest 

fires; 

(C) Treating 750,000 acres of DOI-administered lands for native and 

invasive species; 

(D) Reducing vegetation giving rise to wildfire conditions through forest 

health treatments by increasing health treatments as part of DOI’s offering 

for sale 600 million board feet of timber from DOI-administered lands; 

and 

(E) Performing maintenance on public roads needed to provide access 

for emergency services and restoration work; and 

(ii) The Secretary of Agriculture shall review the Secretary’s 2019 budget 

justifications and give all due consideration to establishing the following 

objectives for 2019, as feasible and appropriate in light of those budget 

justifications, and consistent with applicable law and available 

appropriations: 

(A) Treating 3.5 million acres of Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

Forest Service (FS) lands to reduce fuel load; 

(B) Treating 2.2 million acres of USDA FS lands to protect water quality 

and mitigate severe flooding and erosion risks arising from forest fires; 

(C) Treating 750,000 acres of USDA FS lands for native and invasive 

species; 

(D) Reducing vegetation giving rise to wildfire conditions through forest 

health treatments by increasing health treatments as part of USDA’s offering 

for sale at least 3.8 billion board feet of timber from USDA FS lands; 

and 

(E) Performing maintenance on roads needed to provide access on USDA 

FS lands for emergency services and restoration work. 

(b) For the years following establishment of the objectives in subsection 

(a) of this section, the Secretaries shall consider annual treatment objectives 

that meet or exceed those established in subsection (a) of this section, 

using the full range of available and appropriate management tools, including 

prescribed burns and mechanical thinning. The Secretaries shall also refine 

and develop performance metrics to better capture the risk reduction benefits 

achieved through application of these management tools. 

(c) In conjunction with establishment of goals, and by no later than March 

31, 2019, the Secretaries shall identify salvage and log recovery options 

from lands damaged by fire during the 2017 and 2018 fire seasons, insects, 

or disease. 

Sec. 3. Coordination and Efficient Processes. Effective Federal agency coordination and efficient administrative actions and decisions are essential to 

improving the condition of America’s forests, rangelands, and other Federal 

lands. To advance the policies set forth in this order and the goals set 

by the Secretaries, the Secretaries shall: 

(a) Coordinate with the heads of all relevant Federal agencies to prioritize 

and promptly implement post-wildfire rehabilitation, salvage, and forest restoration; 

(b) Streamline agency administrative and regulatory processes and policies 

relating to fuel reduction in forests, rangelands, and other Federal lands 

and forest restoration when appropriate by: 


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(i) Adhering to minimum statutory and regulatory time periods, to the 

maximum extent practicable, for comment, consultation, and administrative 

review processes related to active management of forests, rangelands, and 

other Federal lands, including management of wildfire risks; 

(ii) Using all applicable categorical exclusions set forth in law or regulation 

for fire management, restoration, and other management projects in forests, 

rangelands, and other Federal lands when implementing the requirements 

of the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

(iii) Consistent with applicable law, developing and using new categorical 

exclusions to implement active management of forests, rangelands, and 

other Federal lands; and 

(iv) Immediately prioritizing efforts to reduce the time required to comply 

with consultation obligations under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

Sec. 4. Unmanned Aerial Systems. To reduce fire and forest health risks 

as described in section 1 of this order, the Secretaries shall, in coordination 

with the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, maximize 

appropriate use of unmanned aerial systems to accelerate forest management 

and support firefighting and post-fire rehabilitation in forests, rangelands, 

and other Federal lands. 

Sec. 5. Wildfire Strategy. (a) In collaboration with Federal, State, tribal, 

and local partners, the Secretaries shall jointly develop, by December 31, 

2020, a strategy to support local Federal land managers in project decisionmaking and inform local fire management decisions related to forests, rangelands, and other Federal lands, thereby protecting habitats and communities, 

and reducing risks to physical infrastructure. 

(b) In developing the strategy described in subsection (a) of this section, 

the Secretaries shall: 

(i) Identify DOI- and USDA FS-administered lands with the highest probability of catastrophic wildfires, as well as areas on those lands where 

there is a high probability that wildfires would threaten people, structures, 

or other high-value assets, in order to direct and prioritize actions to 

meet land management goals and to protect communities; 

(ii) Examine the costs and challenges relating to management of DOIand USDA FS-administered lands, including costs associated with wildfire 

suppression, implementation of applicable statutory requirements, and litigation; 

(iii) Review land designations and policies that may limit active forest 

management and increase the risk of catastrophic wildfires; 

(iv) Consider market conditions as appropriate when preparing timber 

sales, including biomass and biochar opportunities, and encourage export 

of these or similar forest-treatment products to the maximum extent permitted by law, in order to promote active forest management, mitigate 

wildfire risk, and encourage post-fire forest restoration; 

(v) Develop recommended actions and incentives to expand uses, markets, 

and utilization of forest products resulting from restoration and fuel reduction projects in forests, rangelands, and other Federal lands, including 

biomass and small-diameter materials; 

(vi) Assess how effectively Federal programs and investments support 

forest-product infrastructure and market access; 

(vii) Identify and assess methods, including methods undertaken pursuant 

to section 3(b)(iv) of this order, to more effectively and efficiently streamline consultation under the Endangered Species Act; 

(viii) In conjunction with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, identify methods to reduce interagency regulatory barriers, 

improve alignment of Federal, State, and tribal policy, and identify redundant policies and procedures to promote efficiencies in implementing 


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48 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 4 / Monday, January 7, 2019 / Presidential Documents 

the Clean Water Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), Clean Air Act 

(42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), and other applicable Federal environmental laws; 

and 

(ix) Develop procedures and guidance to facilitate timely compliance with 

the National Environmental Policy Act. 

Sec. 6. Collaborative Partnerships. To reduce fuel loads, restore watersheds, 

and improve forest, rangeland, and other Federal land conditions, and to 

utilize available expertise and efficiently deploy resources, the Secretaries 

shall expand collaboration with States, tribes, communities, non-profit organizations, and the private sector. Such expanded collaboration by the Secretaries shall, at a minimum, address: 

(a) Supporting road activities needed to maintain forest, rangeland, and 

other Federal land health and to mitigate wildfire risk by expanding existing 

or entering into new Good Neighbor Authority agreements, consistent with 

applicable law; and 

(b) Achieving the land management restoration goals set forth in section 

2 of this order and reducing fuel loads by pursuing long-term stewardship 

contracts, including 20-year contracts, with States, tribes, non-profit organizations, communities, and the private sector, consistent with applicable law. 

Sec. 7. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed 

to impair or otherwise affect: 

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, 

or the head thereof; or 

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 

relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. 

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and 

subject to the availability of appropriations. 

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, 

substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party 

against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, 

employees, or agents, or any other person. 

THE WHITE HOUSE, 

December 21, 2018. 

[FR Doc. 2019–00014 

Filed 1–4–19; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3295–F9–P 


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