Position on S. 4191 – Regional Leadership in Wildland Fire Research Act
The Federation of American Scientists strongly supports S.4191.
The Regional Leadership in Wildland Fire Research Act would establish regional research centers at institutions of higher education across the country to research and improve our understanding of wildland fire, develop, maintain, and operate next-generation fire and vegetation models, and create a career pathway training program.
“Extreme weather has pushed wildfires to grow in size and severity, making our current wildfire models inadequate. The Regional Leadership in Wildland Fire Research Act is a significant investment in understanding how wildland fire risks continue to evolve, and establishes a strong foundation that first responders and forest managers can rely on,” said Daniel Correa, Chief Executive Officer of the Federation of American Scientists. “We commend Senator Luján and Senator Sullivan for their leadership to champion and invest in innovative next-generation fire and vegetation models to protect human health, ecosystems, and our communities.”
For more information contact James Campbell, Wildfire Policy Specialist, at jcampbell@fas.org.
S.325 would establish a clear, sustained federal governance structure for extreme heat by bringing all responsible agencies together to coordinate planning, preparedness, and response, a key recommendation of FAS’ 2025 Heat Policy Agenda.
The Federation of American Scientists supports H.R. 471, the re-introduction of the Fix Our Forests Act.
Understanding and planning for the compound impacts of extreme heat and wildfire smoke will improve public health preparedness, mitigate public exposure to extreme heat and wildfire smoke, and minimize economic losses.
This strategy provides specific, actionable policy ideas to tackle the growing threat of extreme heat in the United States and was co-signed by more than 60 labor, industry, health, housing, environmental, academic and community associations and organizations.