Threat, But Still Needs Cohesive Strategy
Over the past five years the Forest Service, Department
of Agriculture and land management agencies in the
Department of the Interior have made progress working
with Congress to respond to wild-land fires that
sometimes rage out of control, but they still need to
complete a cohesive strategy that relates to funding,
the Government Accountability Office has said.
It said the agencies have adopted strategy documents
but both the agencies and Congress need a thorough
assessment of the options available to them and
related funding to determine the most effective and
efficient long-term approach.
Thus far the agencies have adopted national strategy
documents covering the need to reduce fire risks,
prioritized communities for protection, and increased
efforts to prepare for fires, put them out, and reduce
fuel on federal land, according to GAO-05-147.
It said the agencies have also made progress developing
localized fire management plans, have improved agency
coordination and collaboration with non-federal partners,
and have strengthened overall accountability for their
investments in fire management by establishing better
performance measures and a framework for monitoring results.
Developing a cohesive strategy would first require
completing efforts such as the “land fire” data and
modeling system, in order to more precisely identify
the scope and exact location of fire threats to better
focus fuel reduction efforts, said GAO.