National Prescribed Fire Act of 2021

The National Prescribed Fire Act of 2021 (S. 1734) aims to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires by significantly increasing the use of controlled, intentional burns on federal lands. The bill requires the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior to implement prescribed fires across millions of acres of national forests and parks, specifically targeting areas that have not burned in the last decade.

For citizens, this legislation would mean an increase in proactive forest management intended to protect communities from unpredictable summer megafires, though it may result in more frequent, low-level smoke during the cooler "burning seasons." To manage these effects, the bill provides funding for hiring and training specialized fire crews and mandates research into new technologies to help mitigate the public health impacts of smoke on local residents. Additionally, the bill creates financial incentives for state, local, and tribal governments to collaborate on large-scale fire prevention projects that cross property lines.