The National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) Executive Board formally welcomed the Department of Defense as a primary member on Dec. 1.
NWCG provides national leadership to enable interoperable wildland fire operations among federal, state, local, Tribal and territorial partners. Membership provides a common approach to fire management standards and supports the goals of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy.
"A key function of NWCG is the establishment of standards for the wildland fire community," said Shane McDonald, NWCG Executive Board Chair. "With the addition of DoD to the NWCG Executive Board, they will now be a part of the process to help create the common operating framework for wildland fire resources."
DoD manages 1 million acres for wildland fire annually across its 27 million acres of training and testing lands. The cross-jurisdictional nature of wildfire demands an interagency approach. Partnerships are key to wildfire planning, prevention, response and recovery.
Including DoD as an NWCG member, is a critical step to enhancing interagency collaboration to prepare fire adapted communities, provide safe and effective wildfire response, and increase mission and landscape resilience. The Defense Climate Adaptation Plan identifies wildfire as a significant threat to military readiness and recognizes that the wildland fire environment is changing, and wildfire frequency and severity is increasing.
Other primary members of NWCG include the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Association of State Foresters, U.S. Fire Administration, Intertribal Timber Council and the International Association of Fire Chiefs. Associate members include the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Wildland Fire and the National Weather Service.
Through NWCG membership, DoD is further empowering its workforce and partnerships to manage resilient landscapes, increasing the sustainability of the mission and DoD lands. To learn more about NWCG and its members, please visit nwcg.gov.