The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, like the rest of the nation, faces a growing wildfire crisis due to accumulating hazardous fuels, a warming climate, and expanding development in the wildland-urban interface. On Jan. 19, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced expanded efforts to reduce wildfire risk in 11 critical landscapes in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.
“It is no longer a matter of if a wildfire will threaten many western communities in these landscapes, it is a matter of when,” said Secretary Vilsack. “The need to invest more and to move quickly is apparent.”
The Sierra and Elko Fronts, a Wildfire Crisis Landscape Project on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, was selected to receive additional funding to support the USDA Forest Service’s National Wildfire Crisis Strategy . Landscapes were chosen based on the potential for wildfire to affect nearby communities, critical infrastructure, public water sources, and Tribal lands.
The Forest is positioned well given current efforts around the Nevada Shared Stewardship Agreement, an interagency collaboration effort that has previously identified wildfire crisis landscapes across the state based on similar threats to public and private land. Funding for the wildfire crisis landscapes will be provided via the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act .
According to Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, he was thrilled the Forest was receiving this historic investment of $53 million in 2023 from the Forest Service for high-impact projects in high-risk communities that will significantly reduce wildfire threats in Elko County and along the Sierra Front. “I thank our multi-agency Shared Stewardship partners for working together to increase the pace and scale of forest and rangeland health projects in critical areas to help protect families, local economies, natural resources, and the our way of life – on both public and private land,” he added
The wildfire crisis landscape projects are a large-scale effort to reduce the risk of wildfire to protect at-risk communities and critical infrastructure, while also increasing the landscape’s resilience and ability to survive the effects of changing climates and other stressors such as insects, disease, and invasive species. Selected wildfire crisis landscapes will advance the goals of the Wildfire Crisis Strategy by utilizing the best available science and strategic network of hazardous fuels and vegetation treatments to reduce wildfire risk.
Wildfire crisis landscapes, also known as firesheds, are large forested and rangeland areas where communities, infrastructure, and natural resources are at the highest risk to be impacted by wildfire. Examples include critical watersheds and wildlife habitats; utility, energy, and mining facilities; transportation corridors; and recreation areas. Several high risk firesheds were identified on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, including the Sierra and Elko Fronts.
Combined with the initial ten selected landscapes in 2022, the wildfire crisis landscape projects now span nearly 45 million acres across 137 of the 250 high-risk firesheds in the western United States. More than $930 million will be invested in 21 landscapes across 26.7 million acres. This work will mitigate risk to approximately 200 communities within these selected landscapes.
The Sierra and Elko Fronts Landscape encompasses approximately 3.4 million acres of Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands adjacent to the metropolitan areas of Reno, Sparks, Carson City, and Elko, Nevada, and approximately 30 other rural communities in Nevada and a small portion of eastern California. Around 1.3 million acres of the landscape are located on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
“This investment directly benefits at-risk communities and protects vital watersheds along the Sierra and Elko Fronts while enhancing forest conditions and creating a fire-resilient forest,” said Intermountain Regional Forester Mary Farnsworth.
The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest will work within and across forest boundaries with state, federal, and tribal partners to treat 200,000 to 300,000 acres of National Forest System lands within the Sierra and Elko Fronts Landscape over the next 10 years.
“Doing this work in the right place, at the right time, and at the right scale, combined with the use of emergency authorities, will accelerate our planning, consultation, contracting, hiring, and project work to reduce wildfire risk and improve forest health and resilience,” said Forest Service Chief Randy Moore. “Collaboration with Tribes, communities and partners will remain a priority, and we will continue to use the best available science when carrying out this important work.”
Wildfire Crisis Strategy
Since releasing its Wildfire Crisis Strategy one year ago, the Forest Service and its partners have used the best available science and data to identify the highest-risk landscapes for treatment projects. The Forest Service found that around 80 percent of the wildfire risk to communities is concentrated in less than 10 percent of “firesheds,” or areas where wildfires are likely to threaten communities and infrastructure. These targeted investments focus on firesheds of the highest risk, where projects are ready to begin or to expand.
The 10-year strategy calls for treating up to 20 million acres of national forests and grasslands and up to 30 million acres of treatments on other federal, state, Tribal, private, and family lands. It also includes developing a plan for long-term maintenance beyond the 10 years.
Over the past 20 years, many states have had record catastrophic wildfires, devastating communities, lives, and livelihoods and causing billions of dollars in damage. More than 10 million acres – more than twice the size of New Jersey – burned each year across the U.S. in 2020, 2017, and 2015.
The Wildfire Crisis Strategy builds on current work and leverages congressional authorities and partnerships to support USDA’s work to mitigate wildfire risk and restore forest health over the next decade. In addition to State Forest Action Plans , the strategy also aligns with the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program , Tribal Forest Protection Act , Good Neighbor Authority , Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership and Shared Stewardship agreements.
In June 2022, USDA released the Secretary’s Memorandum on Climate Resilience and Carbon Stewardship of America’s National Forests and Grasslands. The Secretary’s memo builds on previous actions on climate change, equity, and forest resilience but provides more specific and time-bound actions to integrate into agency programs.
The Forest Service has used the Secretary’s guidance for selection criteria to identify projects under the Wildfire Crisis Strategy, including equity, source water protection, community infrastructure, and wildlife corridors. Recognizing that insects, disease, and wildfire are among the most significant threats to mature and old-growth forests, the Forest Service has begun and will continue targeting hazardous fuels reduction projects to address these threats.