WASHINGTON, D.C. – As a member of the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), the nation’s nucleus for wildland fire response since 1965, the National Association of State Foresters (NASF) took note of yesterday’s Executive Order – Empowering Commonsense Wildfire Prevention and Response – which explicitly directs NIFC leadership collaboration with the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture in pursuit of “encouraging local wildfire preparedness and response.”

NASF appreciates the Administration’s attention to the ongoing wildfire emergency and looks forward to continuing in our leadership role with all partners to enact meaningful improvements to the national wildland fire response system. Destructive and deadly wildfires have devastated communities and pose a real threat across the nation. The overwhelming conditions that produce these catastrophic fires are increasingly frequent, and the tragic outcomes we see do not reflect the year-round efforts amongst state, local, and federal agencies to ensure a highly integrated and coordinated wildfire response system.

The current system reflects the nation’s vast array of federal and state land management agencies and local fire departments, with state, local and federal governments each bearing the responsibility to protect life, property, and natural resources under their jurisdiction. Improving the nation’s defense against wildfire cannot happen without active engagement of state and local firefighting agencies.

The scope of land managed solely by state forestry agencies and local fire departments is staggering. The state and local wildland fire response community—comprised of approximately 100,000 firefighters, 100,000 fire engines, 2,900 bulldozers, and 620 aircraft—is not only vast in capacity but also remarkably effective. These agencies are responsible for the management of over 1.5 billion acres of land and respond to more than 80% of all wildfires nationwide, demonstrating their critical role in safeguarding communities and ecosystems. In 2024 alone, over 97,400 total firefighting resources were deployed through the National Interagency Fire Center, with 32,600 of those dispatched to battle fires on federal lands—underscoring the essential contribution of state and local responders in the broader national wildfire management strategy.

State forestry agencies play an important role in delivering federal Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act programs to develop community wildfire protection plans, implement proactive fuel reduction projects, and enhance the health and resilience of state and private lands, providing essential benefits to communities and adjacent federal lands.

Annually, state forestry agencies implement 84% of prescribed fire nationwide (2020) and further facilitate active forest management to reduce fire risk to communities and support landscape-scale resilience across our nation’s forests. Promoting innovative uses of woody biomass and other forest products, yet another function of state agencies, is crucial to supporting markets, which makes risk-reducing land management more cost-effective while strengthening rural economies. Enhancing market opportunities and sustained investments in proactive mitigation work protects communities and vital natural resources, while reducing the cost of suppression and damages associated with catastrophic wildfires.

Fortifying the national wildland fire response system necessitates sustained federal, state, and local collaboration and investments to increase proactive wildfire mitigation efforts, adopt new technologies, and provide safe, effective fire suppression response. NASF stands ready to continue our longstanding partnership with the federal agencies represented at NIFC to implement the Executive Order to reduce wildfire risk and improve wildfire response nationwide.