wildfire,
federal permitting
Jessica Blackband is a Senior Manager, Environmental and Climate Policy with the Science Policy team at the Federation of American Scientists. Her background includes science communication, environmental policy analysis, qualitative research, and stakeholder engagement. Prior to joining FAS, she worked at Tetra Tech where she supported various U.S. Environmental Protection Agency programs. She has also served as an analyst at the Government Accountability Office and a communications specialist at the South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center. Jessica holds an MPP from George Washington University as well as BA in philosophy and a BS in environmental studies from the Florida State University.
The federal government spends billions every year on wildfire suppression and recovery. Despite this, the size and intensity of fires continues to grow, increasing costs to human health, property, and the economy as a whole.
The success of historic federal investments in climate resilience, clean energy, and new infrastructure hinges on the government’s ability to efficiently permit, site, and build projects.
We built this inventory to enhance our collective understanding of how that software is used in the federal permitting process—and to open lines of dialogue for cross-agency and cross-sector learning.
In the last decade, the U.S. has made significant investments to address the wildfire crisis, including the historic investments in hazardous fuels reduction through the IRA and IIJA.
Wildland fires are becoming larger, more frequent, and more severe. Wildland fire suppression funding, in turn, has become more complex.
To help seed the ground for bipartisan progress, we’ve put together a menu of the best policy ideas on a range of critical topics.
Over the past several years, instability has been a national and global constant. The COVID-19 pandemic upended supply chains and production systems. Floods, hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, and fires have imposed catastrophic consequences and forced people to reconsider where they can safely live. Russia’s war with Ukraine and other geopolitical conflicts have forced countries around […]
This week, we’re launching a Wildland Fire Policy Accelerator to develop policy ideas aimed at improving how we live with fire in the United States.