Secretaries Haaland and Vilsack to Visit Colorado on Rural Infrastructure Tour

Secretaries Will Highlight Historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Investments to Combat Wildfire Crisis, Build Resilience in Rural Communities

WASHINGTON — On Monday, April 11, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will travel to Colorado for an event with Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper and Representative Joe Neguse to help launch the Biden-Harris administration’s Rural Infrastructure Tour, which will highlight how President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investments will help deliver results and resources in rural communities.

The leaders will visit Boulder County, where they will conduct a joint field visit to discuss the Biden-Harris Administration’s comprehensive efforts to protect rural communities from the threat of wildfires and improve the resilience of America’s forests and public lands. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes historic investments to implement this critical work through hazardous fuels management and post-wildfire restoration activities across America’s forests, rangelands, and grasslands.

After receiving a joint operational briefing from wildland fire experts about the seasonal fire outlook, the leaders will share their vision for the Biden-Harris administration’s wildland fire preparedness and response. They will also highlight new funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to address wildfire risk and prepare communities and ecosystems against the threat of wildfire.

This week, the Department of the Interior released a roadmap for making historic investments in forest restoration, hazardous fuels management and post-wildfire restoration in coordination with federal, non-federal and Tribal partners. This roadmap follows the release of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service 10-Year Wildfire Crisis Strategy earlier this year. Taken together, these plans outline the monitoring, maintenance, and treatment strategy the agencies will use to address wildfire risk, better serve communities, and improve conditions on all types of lands where wildfires can occur.

Credentialed members of the media should RSVP to press@usda.gov for arrival instructions.

WHO: Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Senator Michael Bennet, Senator John Hickenlooper, and Representative Joe Neguse

WHAT: Interior and Agriculture Departments field visit to highlight wildfire investments

WHEN: Monday, April 11 at 12:40 PM MST

WHERE: Boulder County, Colorado. Please RSVP for location and arrival instructions.

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