New Biden wildfire commission looking for prevention experts to shape federal policy

The federal government on Thursday will begin accepting applications for a newly created commission designed to shape the nation’s management of wildland fires.

The Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission is seeking potential members with expertise in wildland fire prevention, federal officials say, and hopes to assemble a diverse collection of people from rural, urban and suburban communities.

Members will include representatives of tribal and state and local governments, especially those from areas like California that are at a high risk of wildfires.

The group is expected to recommend a set of national policies next year to manage wildland fires and rehabilitate affected areas, with the first meeting likely to be held in late spring of this year. It will deliver a report to Congress with its recommendations one year after the first meeting.

The deadline for applications is March 25.

The commission was established last year by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a roughly $1 trillion measure that, in addition to creating the group, will spend $8.25 billion attempting to reduce wildfire risk.

The commission will operate under the Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Roughly 2.6 million acres of land in California were burned by wildfires last year, amid a severe prolonged drought that has made them a perennial problem for many Western states.

President Joe Biden has promised that the federal government will become more involved in preventing and mitigating the effect of the fires, though climate change scientists warn they are likely to only increase in severity in the coming years amid rising temperatures globally.

This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 5:00 AM.