Departments of Interior and Agriculture Announce Wildland Fire Service Plan to Modernize Federal Wildfire Response

WASHINGTON - The Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture today announced the coordinated action to implement President Donald J. Trump's Executive Order 14308, Empowering Commonsense Wildfire Prevention and Response, by announcing the U.S. Wildland Fire Service to modernize wildfire management nationwide.

The Department of the Interior issued Secretary's Order 3443, which directs the establishment of the U.S. Wildland Fire Service with a plan for implementation in January 2026, elevating and unifying wildland fire programs to reflect the increasing risk to people, property and infrastructure, and the hazards faced by firefighters every day. The Department of Agriculture also released its own memorandum today to modernize and strengthen America's wildfire prevention and response system.

"For too long, outdated and fragmented systems have slowed our ability to fight fires and protect lives. Under President Trump's leadership, we are cutting through the bureaucracy and building a unified, modern wildfire response system that works as fast and as fearlessly as the men and women on the front lines," said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. "By streamlining federal capabilities and strengthening our partnerships with state, tribal and local teams, we will deliver the common-sense reforms needed to safeguard our communities, our lands and our future."

"Time and time again, we have witnessed the devastating consequences of wildfires caused by mismanagement and a lack of preparedness. Under President Trump's leadership, we are taking bold action to modernize wildfire response systems, streamline federal wildfire capabilities, and strengthen their effectiveness. We started this work in the spring and have continually updated our policies and programs to properly manage our forests through common-sense timber production and management, protecting our national forests and grasslands for generations to come," said Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. "Secretary Burgum and I are committed to leading a bold transformation of the federal wildfire system to help our communities, neighbors, and partners better prepare for, respond to, and recover from wildfires."

Meeting Today's Wildfire Crisis

Fires are costing the U.S. hundreds of billions of dollars annually, damaging infrastructure, disrupting agriculture, driving up food prices and threatening lives and livelihoods. Decades of insufficient forest management - such as fuel build-up, invasive species spread and delayed treatments - have created conditions where wildfires burn hotter, faster and more destructively.

Fire seasons are longer, fire intensity is increasing, and suppression and recovery costs are soaring. Beyond landscapes, wildfires now pose risks to national security, public health, energy and water supplies.

The USWFS will unify Interior's fire bureaus and align operations with the Department of Agriculture through shared procurement, predictive services, research and policy reforms.

Strategic Priorities for Reform

The plan will focus on five interdependent priorities:

• Address systemic inefficiencies and modernize aviation and coordination systems
  • Create a joint federal firefighting aircraft service
  • Consolidate predictive services into a national intelligence capability
• Strengthen interagency wildfire coordination and response
  • Modernize and right-size qualifications and training
  • Standardize the Emergency Firefighter Program
• Improve federal partnerships and reduce administrative burden
  • Streamline cooperative agreements
  • Establish a joint contracting, procurement and payment center
• Ensure wildfire research, technology, and IT investments are mission-ready
  • Build a modern, cohesive Wildfire Enterprise IT System
  • Modernize personal protective equipment standards to better safeguard firefighters
• Integrate pre- and post-fire activities into a complete wildfire strategy
  • Deploy a unified wildfire risk mapping tool
  • Establish a consistent Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation framework
  • Expand beneficial use of biomass and residual forest products

The Departments reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the wildfire workforce. Permanent pay reform is now law, ensuring competitive wages for federal and tribal firefighters. To prevent financial disincentives during peak fire seasons, the fiscal year 2026 budget requests an extension of the premium pay cap waiver.

As part of this process, Interior will provide ample opportunity for states, tribes, local governments and the private sector to contribute suggestions on how to improve the federal wildfire response system

This historic effort to modernize wildfire management will protect lives, safeguard communities, sustain infrastructure and support the long-term resilience of America's forests and rangelands while enhancing national security and economic competitiveness. Successful implementation will also depend on continued support from Congress to provide the necessary appropriations and authorities to sustain these reforms.

For more information, visit: doi.gov, usda.gov and nifc.gov.

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