Description

From the text ... 'Our work has shown that a single focal point is critical for efforts -- such as reducing severe wildland fires and the vegetation that fuels them -- that involve many federal agencies as well as state and local governments, the private sector, and private individuals. However, over a year after the Congress substantially increased funds to reduce hazardous fuels, the federal effort still lacks clearly defined and effective leadership. Rather than a single focal point, authority and responsibility remain fragmented among Interior, the Forest Service, and the states. In a December 2001 report for the Department of the Interior, the National Academy of Public Administration recommended that, to provide the required leadership, the Secretaries of the Interior and of Agriculture should establish an interagency national council to implement the Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy as well as hazardous fuels reduction and other key elements of the National Fire Plan, such as fire suppression.'