[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 116 (Wednesday, June 18, 2025)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 26175-26177]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-11358]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 90 , No. 116 / Wednesday, June 18, 2025 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 26175]]
Executive Order 14308 of June 12, 2025
Empowering Commonsense Wildfire Prevention and
Response
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Purpose. The devastation of the January 2025
Los Angeles wildfires shocked the American people and
highlighted the catastrophic consequences when State
and local governments are unable to quickly respond to
such disasters. In too many cases, including in
California, a slow and inadequate response to wildfires
is a direct result of reckless mismanagement and lack
of preparedness. Wildfires threaten every region, yet
many local government entities continue to disregard
commonsense preventative measures. Firefighters across
the country are forced to rely on outdated technology
and face challenges in quickly responding to wildfires
because of unnecessary regulation and bureaucracy.
The Federal Government can empower State and local
leaders by streamlining Federal wildfire capabilities
to improve their effectiveness and promoting
commonsense, technology-enabled local strategies for
land management and wildfire response and mitigation.
Sec. 2. Streamlining Federal Wildland Fire Governance.
Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary
of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall,
to the maximum degree practicable and consistent with
applicable law, consolidate their wildland fire
programs to achieve the most efficient and effective
use of wildland fire offices, coordinating bodies,
programs, budgets, procurement processes, and research
and, as necessary, recommend additional measures to
advance this objective.
Sec. 3. Encouraging Local Wildfire Preparedness and
Response. (a) Within 90 days of the date of this order,
the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of
Agriculture, in consultation with the Secretary of
Homeland Security, shall:
(i) expand and strengthen the use of partnerships, agreements, compacts,
and mutual aid capabilities that empower Federal, State, local, tribal, and
community-driven land management that reduces wildfire risk and improves
wildfire response, including on public lands; and
(ii) develop and expand the use of other measures to incentivize
responsible land management and wildfire prevention, mitigation, and
response measures at the State and local levels.
(b) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of
Agriculture, in consultation with the Secretary of
Commerce and the heads of executive departments and
agencies (agencies) represented at the National
Interagency Fire Center, shall:
(i) develop a comprehensive technology roadmap, in consultation with the
Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), to increase
wildfire firefighting capabilities at the State and local levels, including
through artificial intelligence, data sharing, innovative modeling and
mapping capabilities, and technology to identify wildland fire ignitions
and weather forecasts to inform response and evacuation; and
(ii) promote the use of a risk-informed approach, as consistent with
Executive Order 14239 of March 18, 2025 (Achieving Efficiency Through State
and Local Preparedness), to develop new policies that remove barriers to
preventing and responding to wildfires, including through year-round
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response readiness, better forest health, and activities outlined in
Executive Order 14225 of March 1, 2025 (Immediate Expansion of American
Timber Production).
Sec. 4. Strengthening Wildfire Mitigation. Within 90
days of the date of this order:
(a) The Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency shall consider modifying or
rescinding, as consistent with applicable law, Federal
rules or policies that impede the use of appropriate,
preventative prescribed fires.
(b) The Secretary of Agriculture and the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency,
in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior,
shall consider modifying or rescinding, as consistent
with applicable law, Federal rules or policies
hindering the appropriate use of fire retardant to
fight wildfires.
(c) The Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation
with the Secretary of the Interior, shall consider
promoting, assisting, and facilitating, as consistent
with applicable law, innovative uses of woody biomass
and forest products to reduce fuel loads in areas at
risk of wildfires.
(d) The Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of
Agriculture, the Secretary of Energy, and the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission shall consider initiating
rulemaking proceedings to establish, as consistent with
applicable law, best practices to reduce the risk of
wildfire ignition from the bulk-power system without
increasing costs for electric-power end users,
including through methods such as vegetation
management, the removal of forest-hazardous fuels along
transmission lines, improved engineering approaches,
and safer operational practices.
(e) The Attorney General, in consultation with the
Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the
Interior, shall review pending and proposed wildfire-
related litigation involving electrical utility
companies to ensure the Department's positions and
proposed resolutions in such matters advance the
wildfire prevention and mitigation efforts identified
in this order.
Sec. 5. Modernizing Wildfire Prevention and Response.
(a) Within 120 days of the date of this order, the
Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Director
of OSTP, the Assistant to the President for National
Security Affairs, and the heads of relevant agencies,
shall, as appropriate, identify, declassify, and make
publicly available historical satellite datasets that
will advance wildfire prevention and response and
improve wildfire prediction and evaluation models.
(b) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of
Agriculture, in consultation with the Secretary of
Commerce and the heads of agencies represented at the
National Interagency Fire Center, shall:
(i) Identify rules that impede wildfire prevention, detection, or response
and consider eliminating or revising those rules, as consistent with
applicable law. This consideration and any resulting rulemaking proceedings
shall be reflected in the Fall 2025 Unified Regulatory Agenda.
(ii) Develop performance metrics for wildfire response, including metrics
related to average response times, annual fuels treatments, safety and cost
effectiveness, and other subjects, as appropriate for inclusion in
strategic and annual performance plans.
(c) Within 210 days of the date of this order, the
Secretary of Defense shall evaluate and, as appropriate
and consistent with applicable law, prioritize the sale
of excess aircraft and aircraft parts to support
wildfire mitigation and response.
Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
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(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(d) The costs for publication of this order shall
be borne by the Department of Agriculture and the
Department of the Interior in equal shares.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
June 12, 2025.
[FR Doc. 2025-11358
Filed 6-17-25; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3410-18-P