WASHINGTON — As fire season stretches into a yearlong struggle for communities across the West, Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Representative Joe Neguse (CO-02) introduced a package of bills to improve wildfire prevention, mitigation, and management.
“As Arizona’s wildfire seasons get longer and wildfire landscapes evolve, it is vital we have the research and coordination tools to ensure effective mitigation and management,” said Senator Gallego. “These bills will improve the working relationship between federal agencies and with their state, local, and tribal counterparts. Wildfires don’t care about jurisdictional boundaries, and these bills reflect that.”
“During my time in Congress, Colorado has experienced four of the five largest wildfires in our state’s history—meaning that my communities, along with the state and local agencies on the frontlines, have seen firsthand the increasing strain as these fires grow more frequent and severe. I’m proud to introduce legislation, rooted in the nonpartisan work of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission, that invests in wildfire science and strengthens the long-term resilience of our communities to reduce the threat of future disasters,” said Representative Neguse.
- The Cross-Boundary Wildfire Solutions Act provides recommendations for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of wildfire mitigation across land ownership boundaries by identifying gaps and opportunities in current federal rules and regulations and supporting increased collaboration.
- The Wildfire Coordination Act establishes an advisory board composed of members from various federal, State, local, Tribal, and non-federal partners that will be responsible for coordinating federal wildfire research, translating it into practical applications, and developing future research.
- The Wildfire Risk Evaluation Act requires a comprehensive review of the wildfire landscape in the United States every four years, outlining the changes in environments, assessing wildfire management challenges, and evaluating the intersection of wildfires and public health. This federal review will help inform the development of long-term strategies to enhance wildfire preparedness and response and strengthen interagency coordination.
“NFFE thanks Representatives Neguse (D-CO), Harder (D-CA), and Kim (R-CA) and Senator Gallego (D-AZ) for introducing three bills: The Cross-Boundary Wildfire Solutions Act, The Wildfire Coordination Act, and the Wildfire Risk Evaluation Act. Together, these bills will improve wildfire interoperability and best practices across government and private lands, establish a permanent advisory board to study America’s wildfire epidemic, and expand the comprehensive impacts of wildfire to include public health. These bills are intended to lift wildfire prevention and firefighting to the next level, ultimately saving lives, property, and the economic interests of municipalities nationwide,” said Randy Erwin, National President, National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFA).
“Congressman Neguse and Senator Gallego are true champions of combatting the current wildfire crisis and the women and men that answer the call of duty. Grassroots Wildland Firefighters commend the Congressman for approaching the wildfire crisis holistically and with a truly comprehensive approach,” said Luke Mayfield, President, Grassroots Wildland Firefighters.
“Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition is proud to support the Cross-Boundary Wildfire Solutions Act, the Wildfire Coordination Act, and the Wildfire Risk Evaluation Act. By implementing several recommendations from the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission’s final report, these critical bills require thorough examination of federal wildfire management resources and coordination. We applaud Congressman Neguse and Senator Gallego and urge Congress to pass this vital legislation,” said Laurel Harkness, Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition Director.
“Wildfire risk is more prevalent than ever. The Wildfire Risk Evaluation Act, Wildfire Coordination Act, and Cross-Boundary Wildfire Solutions Act will ensure that our federal wildfire strategy is better coordinated, accountable, and adaptive to address current and future wildfire threats. These bills are aligned with the Wildland Commission’s proactive recommendations to Congress to prevent loss and bolster community resilience. APCIA encourages support for the legislation and commends Congressman Neguse and Senator Gallego for their leadership,” said Sam Whitfield, Senior Vice President, Federal Government Relations, American Property Casualty Insurance Association.
“This package of bills would improve the effectiveness and efficiency of wildfire mitigation, establish an advisory board responsible for coordinating federal wildfire research, and require a comprehensive review of the wildfire landscape in the United States every four years,” said James Campbell, Wildfire Policy Specialist at the Federation of American Scientists. “This package of bills hits on a number of key areas that are critical to supporting increased collaboration across federal agencies and confronting the wildfire crisis head-on.”
“Improving our outcomes from wildfire requires improving federal coordination and adaptive management,” said Tyson Bertone-Riggs, Managing Director of the Alliance for Wildfire Resilience. “Taken together, these bills will help federal agencies measure progress towards implementation of the recommendations of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission and goals of the Cohesive Strategy, develop better strategies for cross-boundary risk reduction, and improve and target federal research to support wildfire management.”
A one-pager on the legislation can be found HERE.
6/11/25