Doug Burgum

U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Jan. 12 signed an order establishing the U.S. Wildland Fire Service, a unification of programs previously part of six DOI agencies and offices. The effort, which carries out provisions of President Donald Trump’s June 12 Empowering Commonsense Wildfire Prevention and Response executive order, will allow the department to “better respond to the increasing risks that wildland fire presents to people, property and infrastructure as well as the hazards faced by firefighters every day,” according to Burgum’s order… It appears the new agency is suppression-focused, Steve Ellis, who chairs the National Association of Forest Service Retirees, told Capital Press. …“While consolidating agencies might appear to be more efficient for fixing the catastrophic wildfire problem, successful wildland fire management involves much more than suppression,” he said. “The critical linkage between fire suppression and land management, including fuels reduction and prescribed fire, must be maintained.”