The National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy is the United States’ nationwide framework for reducing wildfire risk without treating every fire as an enemy. Created under the 2009 FLAME Act and finalized in 2014, it coordinates federal, state, local, Tribal, nongovernmental and community action around three linked outcomes: resilient landscapes, fire-adapted communities, and safe, effective risk-based response.
A 2023 update adds stronger emphasis on sharing risk across boundaries, setting landscape- and community-scale priorities, accepting limited short-term risk for greater long-term benefit, and measuring outcomes rather than merely counting activities. Department of the Interior (DOI) documents from 2024 say USDA and DOI were still incorporating that update into their respective wildland-fire strategies; the materials available do not establish a later completion date.
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What the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy is
Congress directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and DOI to develop a national cohesive strategy in the Federal Land Assistance, Management, and Enhancement (FLAME) Act of 2009. The resulting National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy was developed through regional analysis and collaboration, then issued in 2014.
It is not a single agency operating plan, a national ban on wildfire, or a promise that every fire will be suppressed. It is a shared framework for making decisions across ownership and jurisdictional boundaries. The strategy recognizes that fire is a natural ecological process in many landscapes, while also acknowledging that homes, infrastructure and communities have expanded into fire-prone areas.
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The Wildland Fire Leadership Council vision reproduced in the 2014 strategy is: “To safely and effectively extinguish fire, when needed; use fire where allowable; manage our natural resources; and as a Nation, live with wildland fire.” That wording establishes the central balance: suppress a dangerous fire, use beneficial fire when conditions and authorities permit, and manage landscapes and communities so that wildfire does not automatically become a catastrophe.
The three goals that organize the strategy
The strategy treats its goals as interdependent. A community cannot be fully fire-adapted if surrounding fuels and ecosystems are deteriorating, and a resilient landscape does not eliminate the need for evacuation planning, building protection or incident response.
1. Resilient landscapes
The original strategy called this goal “restore and maintain landscapes.” Current agency descriptions commonly use “resilient landscapes.” The objective is to manage forests, rangelands and other wildland areas so they can withstand, absorb and recover from fire-related disturbance in ways consistent with ecological and land-management objectives.
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Resilience does not mean preventing all fire. Depending on the ecosystem and management objective, it can involve allowing naturally ignited fire to burn under acceptable conditions, using prescribed fire, reducing hazardous fuel concentrations, restoring vegetation patterns or protecting areas where fire would cause unacceptable damage. The appropriate action differs by geography, ecology, ownership and available resources.
2. Fire-adapted communities
A fire-adapted community is prepared for wildfire and able to withstand, respond to and recover from it. The concept extends beyond a fire department’s response capacity. It includes residents, local governments, land managers, utilities, businesses and the built environment.
For construction and development decisions, the goal means treating wildfire as a foreseeable site and community risk rather than an exceptional event. Land-use choices, access for emergency vehicles, evacuation routes, defensible space, water and power reliability, maintenance responsibilities and rebuilding decisions all affect whether a community can function during and after a fire. The strategy itself does not prescribe one national building code or a universal construction specification; those requirements remain dependent on applicable state, local, Tribal and federal authorities.
3. Safe, effective, risk-based response
All jurisdictions are expected to participate in wildfire decisions using risk information, with firefighter and public safety first. The strategy’s guiding principles state: “Reducing risk to firefighters and the public is the first priority in every fire management activity.”
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallRisk-based response weighs the threat to people, communities, critical infrastructure, cultural resources and ecological values against the probability and consequences of different actions. It can support direct suppression, indirect containment, monitoring, evacuation support, strategic protection of assets or a combination of tactics. The aim is not to maximize the number of acres treated or fires suppressed; it is to achieve the safest useful outcome.
| Goal | Primary question | What success looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Resilient landscapes | Can the landscape tolerate and recover from fire consistent with its ecological objectives? | Fire effects and vegetation conditions support long-term landscape health and reduce unacceptable risk. |
| Fire-adapted communities | Can people and infrastructure withstand, respond to and recover from wildfire? | Residents, institutions and critical services are prepared for fire before, during and after an incident. |
| Safe, effective response | Which action best manages risk under current conditions? | Decisions protect firefighters and the public while using resources where they produce the greatest safety benefit. |
How the strategy is meant to work across jurisdictions
The 2014 framework is described as “all-hands, all-lands.” That phrase reflects the reality that wildfire crosses property lines and political boundaries. Federal agencies may manage one parcel, a state another, a county the next, and Tribal governments or private owners additional areas. Smoke, embers, evacuation traffic, watersheds and power systems do not stop at those boundaries.
Implementation is organized around three complementary approaches rather than a single command structure:
- Strategic alignment: agencies and partners align their priorities and decisions with the three national goals.
- Collaborative engagement: federal, state, local and Tribal governments, nongovernmental organizations and the public work together on risks that no one entity can solve alone.
- Programmatic alignment: funding, assistance, planning and operational programs are coordinated so they reinforce one another instead of producing isolated projects.
DOI’s 2014 announcement identified a companion National Action Plan as the implementation framework. The strategy therefore functions as a direction-setting document; specific projects and authorities still depend on the responsible jurisdiction, land-management plan, funding and incident conditions.
What changed in the 2023 update
In testimony dated March 12, 2024, DOI described the strategy as originally developed in 2014 and updated in 2023. The update shifts attention from treating risk as an agency-by-agency problem toward collectively defining, understanding and managing it.
Collectively define risk
Partners are expected to develop a shared picture of risk, including who and what is exposed, how hazards interact and which consequences matter most. A common risk picture helps neighboring jurisdictions avoid making decisions that simply move danger across a boundary.
Set landscape-level and community-wide priorities
Instead of ranking projects only within individual programs, the update emphasizes priorities at the scale of connected landscapes and whole communities. This can place a fuel treatment, evacuation improvement, ecosystem restoration project and preparedness effort in the same decision conversation.
Share and co-manage risk across boundaries
Risk is not always eliminated; it is assigned, reduced, accepted or transferred. The update calls for jurisdictions and partners to share responsibility and make those choices deliberately, rather than leaving one community or group to absorb consequences created elsewhere.
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Some actions that improve future resilience can create near-term exposure or operational difficulty. For example, allowing fire to burn under controlled conditions may carry immediate smoke, escape or resource risks even when it reduces future hazard. The update recognizes that such decisions require explicit risk management, safeguards and accountability.
Invest in outcomes, not only outputs
Counting acres treated, plans completed or training sessions delivered can show activity without showing whether risk changed. The updated direction favors outcome-based approaches: safer communities, more resilient landscapes, better recovery and more effective response.
In a June 2024 direction to wildland-fire leaders, DOI said USDA and DOI were working to incorporate the update into their respective wildland-fire strategies. That document establishes work underway at that time, not a confirmed post-2024 completion or supersession of the cohesive strategy.
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How it balances suppression with beneficial fire
The strategy rejects a one-rule approach. Suppression is appropriate when a fire threatens people, firefighters, communities, critical infrastructure or resources that cannot safely be exposed. In other situations, fire may be allowed or deliberately introduced to meet ecological or risk-reduction objectives.
The decision is conditional, not ideological. Managers consider weather, fuel moisture, topography, expected fire behavior, smoke, values at risk, firefighter exposure, containment opportunities, legal authorities and the consequences of both action and inaction. A fire that is manageable in a remote landscape under favorable conditions can become unacceptable if wind, drought or nearby development changes the risk.
| Decision consideration | Questions managers must address |
|---|---|
| Safety | What are the likely consequences for firefighters, residents and the public? |
| Landscape objectives | Would fire support or undermine the desired ecological condition? |
| Community protection | Are homes, evacuation routes, utilities or critical facilities exposed? |
| Jurisdiction and coordination | Who has authority, who bears the risk and how will neighboring jurisdictions participate? |
| Time horizon | Does a near-term action reduce or increase long-term risk? |
Why national priorities cannot be identical everywhere
The original strategy grew from regional analyses because wildfire conditions vary widely. A strategy suitable for a dry conifer forest may be inappropriate in grassland, shrubland, coastal forest or a fire-dependent ecosystem. Communities also differ in population, income, infrastructure, evacuation options, cultural resources and governance.
The strategy acknowledges geographic allocation trade-offs: investing money, crews or equipment in one place can reduce what is available elsewhere. It also recognizes temporal trade-offs: a decision made now can constrain future choices. These trade-offs make prioritization unavoidable. A national framework supplies common goals and principles, but local and regional analysis determines where work is most urgent and which action is defensible.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the strategy means for construction and development
Because the strategy is a policy framework rather than a construction standard, it does not replace local building codes, planning rules, fire-marshal requirements or project-specific engineering. Its value to construction professionals is as a risk lens for decisions made before a fire occurs.
At the site and subdivision scale
- Identify wildfire exposure during site selection and entitlement, not only during final design.
- Coordinate access, turning areas, water supply, utility corridors and evacuation routes with local emergency planners.
- Clarify who will maintain shared roads, vegetation treatments, drainage and other risk-reduction measures after construction.
- Consider how a project connects to neighboring parcels and whether it creates or transfers risk across a boundary.
At the building scale
Use the governing jurisdiction’s adopted requirements for wildfire-resistant construction, site planning and materials. Where requirements allow choices, evaluate roof, wall, vent, opening, deck and exterior-assembly decisions as part of a whole-building risk strategy rather than as isolated upgrades. The national strategy supports preparedness and resilience but does not itself certify a particular product or prescribe a universal assembly.
For owners and project teams
Document assumptions about wildfire exposure, emergency access, utility continuity, construction sequencing and post-fire recovery. Include operations and maintenance responsibilities in contracts and owner handover documents. A resilient design that is not maintained may not deliver the intended outcome.
Context: the 2023 fire-year figures
A 2024 DOI leadership letter, citing the National Interagency Coordination Center, reported 56,580 wildfires and more than 2.6 million acres burned in the United States in 2023. Those are 2023 figures reported in a 2024 document, not a 2024 or 2026 fire-year total. DOI noted that the comparatively smaller burned area did not prevent several fires from producing serious local impacts. The example illustrates why acreage alone is an inadequate measure of national wildfire risk: location, timing, exposure and consequences matter.
How to judge an implementation choice
When a community, agency or project team compares possible actions, use the strategy’s five decision axes:
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- Landscape resilience: Does it support the desired ecological condition and future fire behavior?
- Preparedness and recovery: Can people, services and infrastructure function through the event and recover afterward?
- Shared risk: Which jurisdictions and groups benefit, decide, pay and carry residual risk?
- Time horizon and cost: What near-term disruption or expense is justified by the expected long-term outcome?
This framework prevents a narrow “treat or do nothing” choice. A combination of preparedness, targeted landscape work, coordinated response planning and carefully managed fire may outperform any single intervention.
What is established—and what is not
The official materials establish the strategy’s 2009 legislative origin, 2014 publication, three-goal structure, all-hands, all-lands approach and 2023 update. They also establish that USDA and DOI were incorporating the update into their own strategies in documents issued during 2024.
They do not establish that every recommendation has been implemented nationwide, that the 2023 update has been fully integrated after 2024, or that the strategy has been replaced. Implementation remains dependent on agency decisions, congressional and local funding, jurisdictional authorities, land-management plans and changing fire conditions.
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