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The Biden-Harris administration’s Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission released a report outlining a strategy to meet aerial firefighting equipment needs through 2030. As climate change fuels longer and more intense wildfire seasons, aerial assets bring unique response capabilities to wildland fire suppression.
The Commission, chaired by the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, was tasked with developing a report on aerial firefighting to Congress.
The report reexamines existing approaches to aviation fleet procurement, mobilization, composition and quantity to set aviation management on a new trajectory for the next decade and beyond.
The Commission, created by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and announced in December 2021, was charged with making recommendations to improve federal policies related to the mitigation, suppression, and management of wildland fires in the United States, and the rehabilitation of land in the United States devastated by wildland fires.
Findings and recommendations outlined in the report include:
- The need to develop new or update aviation resource benchmarks and national procurement models, including the need for greater coordination with partners in these efforts.
- Improvements to appropriations, contracting, staffing and interoperability to improve the use and availability of existing resources.
- Improvements and limitations to the military surplus process and equipment.
- Additional considerations, including aviation resource use in beneficial fire and the emerging importance of uncrewed aerial systems.
In addition to establishing the Commission, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides historic funding for a suite of programs aimed at reducing wildfire risks, detecting wildfires, instituting firefighter workforce reforms and building more resilient infrastructure.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also supports landmark pay increases for federal wildland firefighters, which aim to bring federal firefighter pay in alignment with their state and local counterparts, while aiding in recruitment and retention of a more permanent and stable wildland firefighting force across the federal government.
These investments support the implementation of the Department of the Interior’s “Five-Year Monitoring, Maintenance, and Treatment Plan,” which provides a roadmap for addressing wildfire risk on Department of the Interior-managed and Tribal lands. They also support the USDA Forest Service’s “Confronting the Wildfire Crisis” strategy, which aims to treat 20 million acres of national forests and grasslands and 30 million acres of state, local, Tribal and private lands over the next 10 years to reduce wildfire risk where it matters most. These plans help facilitate the collaborative work between the two Departments.
The Commission’s work builds on existing interagency federal efforts, such as the Wildland Fire Leadership Council and the White House Wildfire Resilience Interagency Working Group, and will continue to pursue an all-of-government approach to wildfire risk reduction and resilience.
For more information visit the commission website or email wildlandfirecommission@usda.gov.
FEMA is seeking feedback on the draft “Achieving Equitable Recovery: A Post-Disaster Guide for Local Officials.” The open comment period will end on March 15.
Disaster recovery presents communities with the opportunity to rebuild in a thoughtful, equitable and resilient way. This guide supports local officials in:
- Their efforts to identify needs.
- Establishing critical partnerships.
- Leveraging new opportunities.
- Conducting strategic public engagement.
- Making a strong case for funding in an equitable manner.
The guide is organized around eight goals focused on approaches to engaging and identifying the needs of all community members and ensuring a more accessible, inclusive and equitable recovery planning process.
FEMA will host a series of 60-minute webinar sessions to provide an overview of the draft guide and gather feedback from whole community partners. The sessions will include facilitated discussions with stakeholders to help improve the existing draft.
For more information about the webinars and to access the draft Equity Guide and related documents, visit FEMA.gov.
On this episode of the FEMA Podcast, "Before, During and After," we catch up with FEMA Office of Disability Integration and Coordination Director Sherman Gillums, Jr. to explore his first hundred days in office. The podcast also discusses the improvements that are being made in FEMA's program delivery, raise awareness for how to engage persons with disabilities and lay out a plan on how to make the disaster response and recovery process more effective.
To listen to the full episode, visit FEMA.gov.
FEMA Seeks Leaders for Youth Preparedness Council
FEMA is accepting applications for the Youth Preparedness Council. The online application process is open, and students must complete their applications by midnight PT on March 6.
The agency will host a webinar to provide additional information on the council at 8 p.m. ET on Feb. 28. Register in advance.
If you know a teen interested in preparedness and community service, encourage them to apply. To learn more about the Youth Preparedness Council, visit FEMA.gov.
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Webinars on ‘Buy America’ Preferences for FEMA Grant Programs
FEMA is offering a series of one-hour briefings for all recipients and subrecipients under awards for 23 FEMA grant programs. These programs are now subject on the domestic preference requirements of the Build America, Buy America Act. The briefings will also cover best practices for documenting compliance. The briefings will be held:
Most disaster financial assistance programs are not subject to requirements. For a list of FEMA financial assistance programs not subject to the requirements please visit FEMA.gov
Frequently Asked Questions, additional guidance, webinar information, resources and contact information can be found on FEMA’s “Buy America” webpage.
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FEMA is Accepting Revolving Loan Fund Applications
FEMA is accepting applications to the Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan Fund grant program. Loans will be available to help local governments satisfy non-federal cost share requirements under FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance programs, update building codes adoption, and enforcement and make zoning and land use changes.
The program has been expanded to give 20 federally recognized tribal nations and insular areas the same eligibility to apply as states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. As defined by the Safeguarding Tomorrow through Ongoing Risk Mitigation (STORM) Act, insular areas are American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and U.S. Virgin Islands.
The funding notice is available at Grants.gov. Eligible entities must apply for funding using the Non-Disaster (ND) Grants Management System (ND Grants). Applications must be received by 3 p.m. ET on April 28.
Visit FEMA.gov for more information.
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COVID-19 Incident Period Ends May 11
FEMA announced that all COVID-19 incident periods will close on May 11. This follows the Biden-Harris Administration’s determination regarding the end of the Public Health Emergency and National Emergency declarations.
FEMA published a Federal Register Notice providing a 90-day advance notice to government partners and stakeholders that eligibility of work and reimbursable costs will end on May 11.
The COVID-19 disaster declarations are the longest in FEMA’s history.
FEMA will arrange programmatic briefings, share webinars and make experts available for all stakeholders impacted by the closure.
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FEMA Seeks Feedback on Hazard Mitigation Documents
FEMA is seeking public feedback on nine Hazard Mitigation resource typing documents. These resource typing documents include two National Incident Management System-typed Hazard Mitigation teams for operations and planning and seven positions that make up the teams. This 30-day national engagement period will conclude at 5 p.m. ET on March 16.
To provide comments on the draft documents, complete the feedback form and submit the form to FEMA-NIMS@fema.dhs.gov no later than 5 p.m. ET on March 16.
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