The Biden-Harris Administration announced on July 12th, 2023, a $185 million investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that will fund wildland fire management nationwide throughout the 2023 fiscal year.

 
This announcement comes as states across the country are battling fires. The funding will support special pay supplements and training for federal wildland firefighters.

The funding was announced by Deputy Secretary of the Interior, Tommy Beaudreau during a visit in Montana at the Blackfoot-Clark Fork Restoration Landscape in Western Montana. The state will receive an overall $8.4 million in funding for wildland fire management in the 2023 fiscal year.

"As climate change brings longer fire seasons and more extreme fire behavior in Montana and across the West, we must remain steadfast in our commitment to wildland fire preparedness and response," said Deputy Secretary Beaudreau. "Through President Biden's Investing in America agenda, we are strengthening our wildfire response efforts, providing increased certainty to allow land managers to better prepare for future needs, and ensuring our wildland firefighting workforce is given the respect, compensation and training support they deserve."

$12.5 million from this announcement will go towards 63 projects across eight states on nearly 40,000 acres of BLM land. Another $64 million is allocated towards the Bureau of Indian Affairs, BLM, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service for fuel management projects set to begin in fiscal 2024.