FS–1187c | March 2022

WILDFIRE CRISIS

Strategy

CONFRONTING THE WILDFIRE CRISIS

A CHRONICLE FROM THE NATIONAL FIRE PLAN TO THE WILDFIRE CRISIS STRATEGY

Forest Service

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
2

 In January 2022, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced a 10-year 

strategy for confronting the wildfire crisis in the United States (Confronting 

the Wildfire Crisis: A Strategy for Protecting Communities and Improving 

Resilience in America’s Forests). After building for decades, the crisis erupted 

in the 2000s as wildfires destroyed lives, homes, and communities on a rising 

scale. The national response, though initially swift, was not enough to keep the 

crisis from continuing to grow—until now. 

From the start, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service and 

the wildland fire community took steps to confront the growing crisis, laying 

the foundations for collaboration across landscapes to reduce wildfire risk. 

At the core of the strategy is ramping up fuels and forest health treatments 

to match the scale of wildfire risk. This paper traces the steps that Congress, 

various administrations, and the wildland fire community took to get here.

Cover photo: Incident Commander Riley Rhoades watches as the fire 

crosses Highway 21. USDA Forest Service photo by Jace James.
3

The Pioneer Fire, Boise National 

Forest, ID, 2016. USDA Forest 

Service photo by Kari Greer.
4

The Yellowstone Fires of 1988 burned much of a beloved national 

park despite the best efforts of the Nation’s wildland firefighters. 

The lodgepole pine forests that dominate Yellowstone National 

Park are adapted to stand-replacing wildfires. Wildfires were long 

overdue, and since then Yellowstone’s landscapes are naturally 

recovering. But a public used to decades of fire control success was 

shocked. 

Wildfires and fire seasons worsened and fire suppression costs 

soared in the 1990s, especially in 1994 and 1996. By then, the 

Forest Service was aware of rising wildfire risk from forests 

overgrown with fuels after decades of fire exclusion, the policy 

that prevailed nationwide from the 1910s until the 1970s (Pyne 

2015). In 1995, the five Federal land management agencies1

responsible for wildland fire management adopted an innovative 

fire management policy, a radical departure from the past. The 

policy called on Federal land managers to integrate wildland 

fire “as a critical natural process” into their land and resource 

management plans, allowing wildland fire “as nearly as possible 

... to function in its natural ecological role” (NWCG 1995). With 

some modifications (Brown 2019; NWCG 2001, 2003; FEC 2009), 

the policy remains in effect to this day. 

Accordingly, with congressional support, the Forest Service 

stepped up the pace of fuels and forest health treatments, including 

the use of wildland fire. In fiscal years 1997–2000, congressional 

allocations for hazardous fuels treatments more than doubled, 

rising from $29.1 million to $71.2 million. 

It wasn’t enough. In 2000, for the first time since the 1960s, 

wildfires burned more than 7.4 million acres—more than twice 

the average annual area burned for the previous 17 years (Oswalt 

et al. 2019). Fires such as the Valley Complex in Montana showed 

extreme fire behavior, rarely seen before. 

1 USDA’s Forest Service, Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service.

2 The figures were taken from the Forest Service’s website for Budget & Performance, where figures for fiscal years before 2009 have since been removed. Dollars have not 

been adjusted for comparison across years.

In response, under former President Bill Clinton (1993–2001), 

the administration prepared a National Fire Plan with five goals, 

including reducing hazardous fuels on the Nation’s forests and 

grasslands. Congressional funding for fuels and forest health 

treatments rose from $71.2 million2 in fiscal year 2000 to about 

$205 million the following year, an increase of almost 300 percent 

in a single year. 

In 2001, under former President George W. Bush (2001–09), 

the administration coordinated with the Western Governors’ 

Association to formulate a national strategy for reducing wildfire 

risk, followed by an implementation plan in 2002. Updated in 

2006, the strategy and plan reflected the need for a national 

framework for preventing and suppressing wildfires, reducing 

hazardous fuels, restoring ecosystems, and helping communities 

protect themselves from wildfire.

WILDFIRE RISK

ASSESSMENTS

Drawing on national data about fuels and fire return intervals, 

Forest Service scientists have long published wildfire risk 

assessments. A 2002 study estimated that 73 million acres on 

the National Forest System were at moderate to high risk of 

catastrophic wildfire (Schmidt et al. 2002). More than a decade 

later, Dillon et al. (2015) found that the Nation had more than 460 

million acres at moderate to very high risk from wildfire—about a 

quarter of the contiguous United States, mostly in the West. 

In 2002, the Forest Service’s Policy Analysis staff, based on 

average fuels treatment costs and number of acres at wildfire risk, 

estimated that tens of billions of dollars would be needed for a 

single round of fuels treatments across the National Forest System. 

The last such cost estimate, essentially unchanged, came in 2016.

RISING WILDFIRE RISK

In 1988, wildfire burned 1.2 million acres in the greater Yellowstone area, including several national forests. During 

recovery, some areas were replanted, while many other areas reseeded naturally. 
5

COHESIVE STRATEGY

In 1999, concerned about rising wildfire risk, Congress asked the 

Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine declining 

forest health on the national forests of the Interior West. Citing 

Forest Service research, the GAO (1999) concluded that rising 

wildfire risk was due to fuel buildups caused by a history of fire 

exclusion. Even hundreds of millions of dollars spent annually 

on fuels treatments, the study accurately predicted, “may not be 

adequate to prevent many catastrophic fires over the next few 

decades.” The report recommended “a cohesive strategy to reduce 

accumulated fuels on national forests” (GAO 1999). 

In response, the Forest Service published Protecting People and 

Sustaining Resources in Fire-Adapted Ecosystems: A Cohesive 

Strategy. Foreshadowing today’s wildfire crisis strategy, the 

agency envisioned “a framework that restores and maintains 

ecosystem health in fire-adapted ecosystems for high-priority 

areas across the interior West” (Laverty and Williams 2000).

Congress remained skeptical. In congressional testimony, the 

GAO noted that the Federal agencies were not coordinated well 

enough to “effectively and efficiently implement the [National 

Fire] Plan” (GAO 2001). “As a result,” the report concluded, 

“the five agencies continue to plan and manage wildland fire 

management activities primarily on an agency-by-agency 

and unit-by-unit basis.” The message was clear: 21st-century 

wildland fire management called for a more comprehensive 

interdisciplinary and cross-jurisdictional approach. 

In the 2000s, as wildfire severity and suppression costs continued 

to mount, the GAO reiterated its call for a cohesive strategy for 

both cost containment and effective wildland fire management 

(GAO 2007a, 2007b). Congress took up the call in the Federal 

Land Assistance, Management, and Enhancement (FLAME) Act 

of 2009, which required the Federal agencies to formulate a joint 

“cohesive strategy” for wildland fire management.

In 2008, representatives from across the wildland fire community 

convened what came to be known as the Emmitsburg 13 

Meeting. Federal, State, and local partners met in Emmitsburg, 

MD, to launch a collaborative process of agreeing on a common 

strategy for confronting rising fire year severity and growing 

wildfire risk. 

The Emmitsburg meeting kicked off a multiyear process in 

three phases. From 2010 to 2014, the interagency Wildland 

Fire Leadership Council brought together Federal, Tribal, State, 

and local governments and nongovernmental organizations to 

formulate a national blueprint for wildland fire management 

called the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management 

Strategy. Finalized in 2014, the Cohesive Strategy has three core 

goals: (1) restoring resilient fire-adapted landscapes; (2) building 

fire-adapted human communities; and (3) responding safely and 

effectively to wildland fire. 

Forest Service Hot Shots and Job Corps firefighters 

perform a prescribed burn on the Monongahela National 

Forest, WV. USDA Forest Service photo by Cecilio Ricardo.
6

 Burn Boss Susan Greenleaf supervises a prescribed burn just south of 

Minnehaha Springs in Pocahontas County, WV, on the Monongahela 

National Forest. USDA Forest Service photo by Kelly Bridges.
7

COLLABORATIVE APPROACHES

In the 1990s, the Forest Service replaced its longstanding timber 

focus with ecosystem-based approaches to national forest 

management. Increasingly, Forest Service managers worked 

with partners for healthy fire-adapted forests across ownerships 

through collaborative community-based forestry (Bosworth and 

Brown 2007a, 2007b). The focus shifted from timber outputs to 

long-term landscape-scale outcomes: healthy, resilient ecosystems 

supporting a full range of values, including clean air and 

water, habitat for native species, and opportunities for outdoor 

recreation. 

As public conflicts over Federal land management waned 

in the 1990s–2000s, former adversaries increasingly sought 

common ground, giving rise to local collaborative groups. The 

Forest Service engaged such groups in sharing resources and 

participating in projects on the national forests. In 2010, building 

on the growing number of collaborative groups across the 

country, Congress established the Collaborative Forest Landscape 

Restoration Program (CFLRP). The program now funds more 

than 20 large-scale projects nationwide, with goals that include 

restoring forest health and reducing wildfire risk across shared 

landscapes. 

In 2012, intent on ramping up fuels and forest health treatments, 

the Forest Service published Increasing the Pace of Restoration 

and Job Creation on Our National Forests. The agency renewed 

its commitment to restoring forests across landscapes in multiple 

ownerships by expanding collaborative frameworks, improving 

and accelerating stewardship contracting, and establishing public/

private partnerships for watershed restoration. 

In pursuing an all-lands approach, the Forest Service was able to 

build on an array of new tools and authorities for cross-boundary 

partnerships. Laws passed in the 2000s–2010s created a new 

authorizing environment for the Forest Service, paving the way 

for collaborative community-based stewardship. The new tools 

and authorities included Cohesive Strategy projects; 20-year 

stewardship contracting; cross-boundary projects with Tribes; 

expanded Good Neighbor Authority; Joint Chiefs’ Landscape 

Restoration projects; and expedited processes for environmental 

analysis and decision making, including various new categorical 

exclusions under the National Environmental Policy Act, making 

it easier to launch projects on Federal lands. 

The Four Forest Restoration Initiative in the Kaibab, Coconino, Apache-Sitgreaves, and Tonto National Forests, AZ. USDA Forest Service photo by Kaibab National Forest.
8
9

Prescribed burn operations at Manning Creek as 

part of 2019 Fire and Smoke Model Evaluation 

Experiment (FASMEE) project. USDA Forest 

Service photo by Kreig Rasmussen.
10

CONGRESSIONAL ACTIONS

Beginning with the National Fire Plan in fiscal year 2001, 

Congress stepped up funding for fuels and forest health 

treatments. With a boost from stimulus spending during the 

Great Recession (2007–09), the Forest Service was able to use 

the new funding to greatly expand its treatments. As a result, the 

5-year average area treated on the National Forest System rose 

from 1.9 million acres in fiscal year 2005 to 3.1 million acres in 

fiscal year 2011 (USDA Forest Service 2019). 

However, Congress never fully funded the National Fire Plan 

(Rains and Hubbard 2002); allocated funds fell consistently short 

of estimated needs for suppression, partnership programs, fuels 

treatments, and more. The Bush administration’s focus shifted to 

the Healthy Forests Initiative, leading to passage of the Healthy 

Forests Restoration Act of 2003. In addition to other measures, 

the new legislation added categorical exclusions to make it 

easier to treat Federal lands in the West. Subsequent legislation 

contained further categorical exclusions.

Nevertheless, record fires continued to mount during worsening 

fire years in the West. The area burned nationwide exceeded 8 

million acres in 2004 and 2005 and 9 million acres in 2006 and 

2007. Suppression costs soared, routinely exceeding budgeted 

amounts and leading to annual “fire borrowing” from nonfire 

programs to cover costs. 

The Forest Service was also forced to shift personnel and 

resources from nonfire mission areas to wildland fire 

management. By 2015, suppression accounted for about 52 

percent of the total Forest Service budget, up from just 16 percent 

in 1995. “Left unchecked,” a Forest Service study concluded, 

“the share of the budget devoted to fire in 2025 could exceed 67 

percent” (USDA Forest Service 2015).

In response, Congress passed the FLAME Act of 2009, which set 

up contingency funds that the Federal fire organizations could 

draw on. However, after 2010, Congress still did not accept the 

need for emergency fire contingency funds. When suppression 

costs climbed again in 2011 and 2012, fire borrowing resumed. 

In the 2010s, with strong support from partners, the Forest 

Service worked with Congress and multiple administrations to 

find a lasting solution. In 2018, Congress passed an Omnibus 

Bill containing a “fire funding fix.” The new law froze annual 

appropriations for wildland fire suppression at the 2015 requested 

level so that they no longer grew at the expense of nonfire work. 

The law also provided offbudget funding for suppression during 

severe fire years to prevent fire borrowing. Due to cost-of-living 

salary increases, austere budget requests aimed at reducing the 

national debt, and other factors, the Forest Service was unable to 

use the savings to ramp up its capacity for fuels treatments. 
11

SHARED STEWARDSHIP INITIATIVE

In passing the 2018 Omnibus Bill, Congress asked the Forest 

Service to take further steps to reduce wildfire risk. In response, 

former Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen formed a team 

to prepare a strategy for reducing wildfire risk based on cuttingedge research by Dr. Alan Ager and fellow scientists at the Rocky 

Mountain Research Station under the leadership of Station 

Director John Phipps. 

In August 2018, the Forest Service released Toward Shared 

Stewardship Across Landscapes: An Outcome-Based Investment 

Strategy. Building on scientific breakthroughs and the Forest 

Service’s growing collaborative capacity, the agency began signing 

Shared Stewardship agreements with States and other partners 

to bring stakeholders together across shared landscapes, agree 

on common goals, and reduce wildfire risk by funding fuels and 

forest health treatments at the needed scale. Shared Stewardship 

agreements now cover most of the country, including most 

Western States. Using tools such as scenario investment planning, 

the partners work together across shared landscapes to place the 

right treatments in the right places at the right scale. 

SHARED 

STEWARDSHIP OUTCOMES INVESTMENTS LANDSCAPES

PRIORITIESTREATMENTS STATES 

COMMUNITIES COLLABORATION

IMPROVE MITIGATION 

VISION

FOREST MANAGEMENT

COORDINATION WATERSHEDS FOCUS PLANNING TOOLS TECHNOLOGY STAKEHOLDERS 

FOCUS

CAPITALIZE

HAZARDOUS FUELS TREATMENT

CAPACITY OPPORTUNITIES SAFE EFFECTIVE CO�MANAGE ADAPTATION RECALIBRATE STEWARDSHIP PRIORITIES

 TOOLS

SHARED 

WATERSHEDS FOREST MANAGEMENT FOCUS OUTCOMES

OPPORTUNITIES

COLLABORATION

CO�MANAGE

CAPACITY TREATMENTS MITIGATION TECHNOLOGY TOOLS COMMUNITIES VISION COLLABORATION TREATMENTS STATES STEWARDSHIP EFFECTIVE SAFE 

INVESTMENTS ADAPTATION

FOCUS WATERSHEDS 

COORDINATION IMPROVE 

SHARED 

STEWARDSHIP OUTCOMES INVESTMENTS LANDSCAPES

PRIORITIESTREATMENTS STATES 

COMMUNITIES COLLABORATION

IMPROVE MITIGATION 

VISION

FOREST MANAGEMENT

COORDINATION WATERSHEDS FOCUS PLANNING TOOLS TECHNOLOGY STAKEHOLDERS 

FOCUS

CAPITALIZE

HAZARDOUS FUELS TREATMENT

CAPACITY OPPORTUNITIES SAFE EFFECTIVE CO�MANAGE ADAPTATION RECALIBRATE STEWARDSHIP PRIORITIES

 TOOLS

SHARED 

WATERSHEDS FOREST MANAGEMENT FOCUS OUTCOMES

OPPORTUNITIES

COLLABORATION

CO�MANAGE

CAPACITY TREATMENTS MITIGATION TECHNOLOGY TOOLS COMMUNITIES VISION COLLABORATION TREATMENTS STATES STEWARDSHIP EFFECTIVE SAFE 

INVESTMENTS ADAPTATION

FOCUS WATERSHEDS 

COORDINATION IMPROVE 

Toward Shared Stewardship 

Across Landscapes:

An Outcome-Based Investment Strategy

United States Department of Agriculture

Forest Service FS-118 August 2018

Top: Forest Service employees, partners, and Government officials after the signing of the Shared Stewardship memorandum of understanding between the Forest 

Service and the state of New Mexico. USDA Forest Service photo by Dorilis Camacho Torres. Bottom: Shared Stewardship publication.
12

WILDFIRE CRISIS: GROWING AWARENESS

 In the 2010s, Forest Service funding for hazardous fuels 

treatments leveled off. After 2013, the 5-year running average 

area treated across the National Forest System never again 

exceeded 2.8 million acres (USDA Forest Service 2019). With 

allocations for fuels treatments inadequate and uncertain, wildfire 

risk continued to grow. In 2015, a Forest Service study estimated 

that almost 100 million acres on the National Forest System were 

at moderate to very high risk of catastrophic wildfire (Dillon et al. 

2015). 

Due to the rising risk, Congress asked the administration under 

former President Donald Trump (2017–21) to “review and update 

the National Fire Plan, as needed.” In response, the Forest Service 

launched “The Case for Change,” which focused on the creation 

of a year-round workforce for wildfire response. First presented 

to the Forest Service’s Senior Fire Leaders in April 2019, the 

initiative also called for more integration of the agency’s fire and 

fuels staff and resources and for getting more low-intensity fire on 

the landscape. 

Station Director John Phipps, after overseeing the science behind 

Shared Stewardship at the Rocky Mountain Research Station, 

was named as Deputy Chief for State and Private Forestry. In 

September 2020, in congressional testimony, Deputy Chief 

Phipps called for changing the trajectory of fuel buildups through 

a paradigm shift in thinking leading to scaling up fuels and forest 

health treatments by at least two to three times. In fall 2020, at 

the request of Congress, the Forest Service delivered a “thought 

piece” paper on how to greatly scale up fuels treatments and the 

projected costs of doing so.

From fall 2020 to spring 2021, Deputy Chief Phipps and other 

members of the Forest Service’s Executive Leadership Team 

met with counterparts from the National Association of State 

Foresters, American Forest Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, 

American Forests, and other organizations to agree on a 

common vision for the future of America’s forests. The partners 

formed a coalition to support the vision, posted position papers 

online (NAFSR 2021; TNC 2021), and crafted common talking 

points for meetings. Elements included the shared perception 

of a wildfire crisis and the need for a new land management 

paradigm, including greatly expanded Federal spending on fuels 

treatments at the scale of actual wildfire risk.

In December 2020, Congress passed an Omnibus Bill directing 

the Forest Service and U.S. Department of the Interior to provide 

“an estimate of the Federal investment required to treat and 

restore all of the acres (Federal and non-Federal) classified as 

being at high or very high risk on the 2018 Wildfire Hazard 

Potential Map.” The Forest Service followed up by engaging 

National Forest System directors and others in analyzing the 

Nation’s wildfire crisis in the West and planning for reducing 

wildfire risk by scaling up fuels and forest health treatments.

Thinning ponderosa pine. USDA Forest Service photo.
13

10-YEAR STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

In August 2021, the Senate passed a bipartisan Infrastructure 

Bill investing about $5.5 billion in natural-resources-related 

infrastructure, including a 5-year investment of about $3 billion 

in restoring ecosystems and reducing wildfire risk. In November, 

the bill passed the House and the President signed it into law. 

The House and Senate began to consider further investments 

in hazardous fuels reduction over the next 10 years through the 

budget reconciliation process. 

In view of the possibility of unprecedented new funding for 

fuels and forest health treatments, Chief Randy Moore asked 

researchers at the Rocky Mountain Research Station, led by Dr. 

Ager, to draft a white paper for review by Executive Leadership 

Team members. Based on the Forest Service’s new Fireshed 

Registry, the paper outlined a 10-year framework for scaling 

up treatments to reduce wildfire risk in the West, including 

treatments on up to 20 million acres on the National Forest 

System and up to 30 million acres on other lands. In September, 

Chief Moore named Brian Ferebee to lead a team that completed 

the 10-year strategy and a plan to operationalize it when funded. 

In January 2022, Chief Moore joined Secretary Vilsack to 

formally release the wildfire crisis strategy and implementation 

plan at a ceremony in Arizona. The strategy articulates the need 

for a new land management paradigm to step up the pace and 

scale of fuels and forest health treatments to match the scale of 

wildfire risk across western landscapes. The treatments focus on 

firesheds that are the highest priority for reducing wildfire risk 

to homes, communities, infrastructure, watersheds, and natural 

resources. Working with partners, the Forest Service will use 

cutting-edge tools like scenario investment planning and the 

Fireshed Registry, along with Good Neighbor Authority, Shared 

Stewardship agreements, and other frameworks for partnerships 

and collaboration, to place the right treatments in the right places 

at the right scale.

Collaborative forest landscape restoration program in Oregon. USDA Forest 

Service photo. Right: Watershed and forest treatments in Santa Fe, NM. USDA 

Photo by Lance Cheung.
14

SOURCES

Bosworth, D.; Brown, H. 2007a. After the timber wars: 

collaborative community-based stewardship. Journal of 

Forestry 105(5): 271–273.

Bosworth, D.; Brown, H. 2007b. Investing in the future: ecological 

restoration and the U.S. Forest Service. Journal of Forestry 

105(4): 208–211.

Brown, H. 2019. Using unplanned ignitions: evolution of Forest 

Service policy. Fire Management Today. 77(3): 37–42.

Dillon, G.K.; Menakis, J.; Fay, F. 2015. Wildland fire potential: 

a tool for assessing wildfire risk and fuels management 

needs. In: Keane, R.E.; Jolly, M.; Parsons, R.; Riley, K. 

Proceedings of the large wildland fires conference. Proc. 

RMRS‒P‒73. Fort Collins, CO: USDA Forest Service, Rocky 

Mountain Research Station: 60‒76.

FEC (Fire Executive Council). 2009. Guidance for 

implementation of the Federal Wildland Fire Management 

Policy. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture/U.S. 

Department of the Interior. 20 p.

GAO (General Accounting Office). 1999. Western national 

forests: a cohesive strategy is needed to address catastrophic 

wildfire threats. Report to the Subcommittee on Forests 

and Forest Health, Committee on Resources, House of 

Representatives. April. GAO/RCED-99-65. Washington, DC: 

GAO. 60 p. 

GAO (General Accounting Office). 2001. The National Fire Plan: 

Federal agencies are not organized to effectively and efficiently 

implement the plan. Testimony before the Subcommittee on 

Forests and Forest Health, Committee on Resources, House of 

Representatives. 31 July. Washington, DC: GAO. 14 p.

GAO (Government Accountability Office). 2007a. Wildland fire 

management: Lack of a cohesive strategy hinders agencies’ 

cost containment. Testimony before the Committee on Energy 

and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate. January 30, 2007. GAO–

07–427T. Washington, DC: GAO.

GAO (Government Accountability Office). 2007b. Wildland fire 

management: A cohesive strategy and clear cost containment 

goals are needed for federal agencies to manage wildland fire 

activities effectively. Testimony before the Subcommittee on 

National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands, Committee on 

Natural Resources, House of Representatives. June 19, 2007. 

GAO–07–1017T. Washington, DC: GAO. 

Laverty, L.; Williams, J. 2000. Protecting people and sustaining 

resources in fire-adapted ecosystems: a cohesive strategy. 

The Forest Service Management Response to the General 

Accounting Office Report GAO/RCED-99-65. Washington, 

DC: USDA Forest Service. 85 p. 

NAFSR (National Association of Forest Service Retirees). 2021. 

America’s forest management crisis—a national catastrophe: 

position paper. 4 p.

NWCG (National Wildfire Coordinating Group). 1995. Federal 

wildland fire management policy and program review. Boise, 

ID: National Interagency Fire Center. 45 p.

NWCG (National Wildfire Coordinating Group). 2001. Review 

and update of the 1995 federal wildland fire management 

policy. [Place of publication unknown]: [Publisher unknown]. 

76 p. 

NWCG (National Wildfire Coordinating Group). 2003. 

Interagency strategy for implementation of the Federal 

Wildland Fire Management Policy. [Place of publication 

unknown]: [Publisher unknown]. 57 p. 

Oswalt, S.N.; Smith, W.B.; Miles, P.D.; Pugh, S.A. 2019. Forest 

resources of the United States, 2017: a technical document 

supporting the Forest Service update of the 2020 RPA 

Assessment. Gen. Tech. Rep. WO-97. Washington, DC: Forest 

Service. 223 p.

Pyne, S.J. 2015. Between two fires: a fire history of contemporary 

America. Tucson, AZ: The University of Arizona Press. 552 p.

Rains, M.T.; Hubbard, J. 2002. Protecting communities through 

the National Fire Plan. Fire Management Today. 62(2): 4–12.

Schmidt, K.M.; Menakis, J.P.; Hardy, C.C. [and others]. 2002. 

Development of coarse-scale spatial data for wildland fire 

and fuel management. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS–GTR–87. Fort 

Collins, CO: USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research 

Station. 33 p.

TNC (The Nature Conservancy). 2021. Wildfire resilience 

funding: building blocks for a paradigm shift. Arlington, VA: 

TNC. 69 p.

USDA Forest Service. 2012. Increasing the pace of restoration and 

job creation on our national forests. February. Washington 

Office, Washington, DC. 8 p.

USDA Forest Service. 2015. The rising cost of wildfire operations: 

Effects on the Forest Service’s non-fire work. August. 

Washington Office, Washington, DC. 16 p.

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across landscapes: an outcome-based investment strategy. 

Washington, DC. 24 p.

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hazardous fuels accomplishments master reports.

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to communities and the environment: 10-year comprehensive 

strategy. Washington, DC. 21 p.

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2002. A collaborative approach for reducing wildland fire risks 

to communities and the environment: 10-year comprehensive 

strategy implementation plan. Washington, DC. 27 p.

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2006. A collaborative approach for reducing wildland fire 

risks to communities and the environment: 10-year strategy 

implementation plan. Washington, DC. 36 p.

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national strategy: the final phase in the development of the 

National Cohesive Strategy for Wildland Fire Management. 

Washington, DC. 93 p.
15

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WILDFIRE CRISIS

Strategy