Establishing the Wildland Fire Management Policy Committee, 6549-6552 [2021-01476]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 12 (Thursday, January 21, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 6549-6552]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-01476]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 86 , No. 12 / Thursday, January 21, 2021 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 6549]]


                Executive Order 13976 of January 14, 2021

                
Establishing the Wildland Fire Management Policy 
                Committee

                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. Purpose. Federal wildland fire management 
                lacks a single focal point of responsibility for policy 
                leadership and accountability for cost controls. While 
                executive departments and agencies (agencies) have 
                implemented 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), and similar 
                Administration efforts, more must be done to continue 
                to improve interagency coordination.

                In contrast to effective ground-level coordination with 
                States, including at the National Interagency Fire 
                Center on suppression activity and the Wildland Fire 
                Leadership Council (WFLC) on Federal-State policy 
                coordination, agencies do not adequately or effectively 
                coordinate with each other at the policy level to 
                reduce hazardous fuels and wildfire severity. This 
                order will ensure that agencies effectively work 
                together in coordinating Federal wildland fire 
                management policy to improve funding allocations for 
                hazardous fuel projects, performance measures for 
                suppression operations and hazardous fuels mitigation, 
                procurement, Federal-State cooperation and cost 
                sharing, cross-jurisdictional post-wildfire 
                rehabilitation, monitoring of electric transmission 
                lines and other critical infrastructure, and other 
                functions.

                Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States 
                to:

                    (a) Improve coordination among agencies on wildland 
                fire management policy, implementation, and oversight 
                issues;
                    (b) Reduce unnecessary duplication across the 
                Federal Government by coordinating and consolidating 
                existing wildland fire-related councils, working 
                groups, and other formal cross-agency initiatives, as 
                appropriate;
                    (c) Efficiently and effectively manage preparedness 
                resources, initial attack response, extended attack and 
                large-fire support, post-wildfire rehabilitation, and 
                hazardous fuels at a cross-boundary, landscape scale;
                    (d) Promote integrated planning and procurement 
                among agencies for Federal investments in wildland fire 
                management infrastructure;
                    (e) Support workforce development and efforts to 
                recruit, train, and retain Federal wildland 
                firefighters to efficiently and effectively respond to 
                wildfire on public lands, and to protect life, 
                property, and community infrastructure; and
                    (f) Coordinate Federal engagement with State, 
                local, and tribal government entities, including 
                Federal policy positions in the WFLC.

                Sec. 3. Interagency Wildland Fire Subcabinet. To 
                promote efficient and effective coordination across 
                agencies engaged in Federal wildland firefighting and 
                to facilitate coordinated and strategic wildland fire 
                management actions, an interagency Wildland Fire 
                Management Policy Committee (to be known as the 
                Wildland Fire Subcabinet) is hereby established.

[[Page 6550]]

                    (a) The Wildland Fire Subcabinet shall be co-
                chaired by the Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary 
                of the Interior (Co-Chairs), and shall include the 
                Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, the 
                Secretary of Homeland Security, the Chairman of the 
                Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the Director of 
                the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the 
                Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 
                (EPA), the Director of the National Economic Council 
                (NEC), and the heads of such other agencies, or their 
                designated representatives, as the Co-Chairs deem 
                appropriate.
                    (b) The Wildland Fire Subcabinet shall meet 
                quarterly.

                Sec. 4. Reducing Inefficiencies and Duplication. 
                Currently, several Federal wildfire-related councils, 
                task forces, working groups, and other formal cross-
                agency initiatives (Federal interagency working groups) 
                exist to address wildland fire management policy. 
                Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Wildland 
                Fire Subcabinet shall, to the extent practicable, 
                identify all such Federal interagency working groups 
                and provide recommendations to the Secretary of the 
                Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the 
                Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
                on coordinating and consolidating these Federal 
                interagency working groups, as appropriate and 
                consistent with applicable law.

                Sec. 5. Improving Wildland Fire Management Policy 
                Coordination, Implementation, and Oversight. Within 180 
                days of the date of this order, the Wildland Fire 
                Subcabinet shall develop, publish, and implement a 
                strategic plan addressing the issues described in this 
                section. To implement this strategic plan, the Wildland 
                Fire Subcabinet shall develop specific measurable 
                goals, performance targets, and dashboard reporting for 
                consideration by each Federal agency represented on the 
                Wildland Fire Subcabinet, using common data standards 
                at the wildfire and hazardous fuels program level. This 
                strategic plan shall address the issues described 
                below:

                    (a) Effectively managing preparedness resources, 
                initial attack response, extended attack and large-fire 
                support, post-wildfire rehabilitation, and hazardous 
                fuels at a cross-boundary, landscape scale;
                    (b) Developing and adopting additional hazardous 
                fuels performance measures that go beyond the 
                traditional output reporting of total acreage for fuel 
                removal to transparently demonstrate a strategic focus 
                on projects that, by consensus agreement, pose the 
                highest risks to life, property, and community 
                infrastructure;
                    (c) Developing and adopting additional wildland 
                fire suppression operations performance measures for 
                large wildfires, and for aviation asset deployment, 
                that go beyond the traditional output reporting of 
                acres burned, dollars spent, and gallons of retardant 
                dropped to demonstrate strategic use of high-cost human 
                capital, equipment, and aircraft as opposed to 
                traditional reliance on overwhelming force;
                    (d) Developing and adopting new technologies to 
                bring to bear cutting-edge management of the wildland 
                fire program to improve the safety, efficiency, and 
                effectiveness of suppression operations;
                    (e) Developing and adopting data-driven decision-
                making in order to support infrastructure, allowing for 
                better integration of wildland fire research and 
                development into ground-level suppression operations 
                and hazardous fuel mitigation;

[[Page 6551]]

                    (f) Evaluating personnel policies to ensure that 
                they allow for the year-round availability of a well-
                trained firefighting force at all levels, from 
                apprentice to incident command, and the most efficient 
                division of responsibility between line officers and 
                incident commanders to support wildfire response and 
                hazardous fuels reduction;
                    (g) Strengthening government and industry 
                collaboration with critical infrastructure owners and 
                operators, including electric utilities, to better 
                manage and mitigate risks, improve and invest in 
                technology research and development, deploy 
                technologies in concert with the private sector, 
                exchange lessons learned in training and monitoring 
                capabilities, and share operational practices;
                    (h) Examining regulatory and other issues that 
                negatively impact hazardous fuel reduction and post-
                wildfire rehabilitation program performance, including 
                coordination across agencies on projects requiring 
                compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, 
                42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.;
                    (i) Coordinating among Federal land managers to 
                assure efficient and consistent approaches between 
                agencies to review and approve utility vegetation 
                management actions to improve or maintain the 
                reliability of the grid or reduce wildfire risk; and
                    (j) Developing a coordinated budget strategy that 
                addresses the trade-offs between suppression, 
                preparedness, post-wildfire rehabilitation, and fuels 
                treatment to ensure a balanced commitment of resources 
                and investment in areas at risk or affected by 
                wildfire.

                Sec. 6. Report. Within 1 year of the date of this 
                order, and annually thereafter, the Wildland Fire 
                Subcabinet shall update the Chairman of CEQ, the 
                Director of OMB, the Director of OSTP, and the Director 
                of the NEC on the status of the strategic plan and the 
                specific actions identified in this order.

                Sec. 7. Administration. The Department of Agriculture 
                shall, to the extent permitted by law and subject to 
                the availability of appropriations, provide 
                administrative support as needed for the Wildland Fire 
                Subcabinet to implement this order. The Departments of 
                the Interior and Agriculture shall consult with WFLC, 
                as appropriate, to effectively carry out the 
                requirements of this order.

                Sec. 8. Federal Advisory Committee Act. The members of 
                the Wildland Fire Subcabinet should, pursuant to and 
                consistent with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 
                amended (5 U.S.C. App.), and in the interest of 
                obtaining advice or recommendations for the Wildland 
                Fire Subcabinet, use their advisory committees, as 
                appropriate.

                Sec. 9. 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 in a manner 
                consistent with applicable law and subject to the 
                availability of appropriations.

[[Page 6552]]

                    (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.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    January 14, 2021.

[FR Doc. 2021-01476
Filed 1-19-21; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P