USFS and BLM outline Nevada wildfire response, shared stewardship priorities and local programs

Federal land-management officials told the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources that Nevada’s wildfire strategy centers on interagency coordination under a shared stewardship agreement, a national cohesive strategy framework, and locally led programs to reduce risk and improve response.

"A unique piece, and that's our shared stewardship agreement," said John Stansfield, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest supervisor, describing a Nevada agreement that brings together the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service and state entities including the Nevada Department of Wildlife and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Stansfield said signatories identified 13 priority landscapes for collaborative work, with about nine currently active.

Brock Eulig, State Fire Management Officer for BLM Nevada, described BLM’s on-the-ground firefighting footprint, saying, "we have 53 fire engines 7 dozers, 3 crews and 3 air tanker bases that we utilize to suppress fires across the state." Stansfield and Eulig said Nevada uses an interagency dispatch and an interagency Nevada Fire Board to coordinate resources; the board oversees five Type 3 Incident Management Teams used statewide.

Officials tied three pillars of the national Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy to Nevada efforts: safe and effective response, resilient landscapes and fire-adapted communities. On resilient landscapes, Stansfield said each priority landscape has an interagency “landscape group” that prepares an interagency five-year plan to address fire risk along with habitat and hydrology restoration. He noted that the shared stewardship agreement was first signed in 2019 and re-signed in 2024 and that the Natural Resources Conservation Service was added as a partner in the renewal.

Stansfield also said the governor’s proposed budget included $6,000,000 to support locally led collaborative conservation projects identified through shared stewardship.

On fire-adapted communities, Eulig said agencies are working to expand community wildfire protection plans (CWPPs) countywide because many grant programs require an updated CWPP as a condition for funding. He said BLM recently reached an agreement with the Nevada Fire Chiefs Association to administer a subgrant program for small microgrants to communities and individuals for fire-risk reduction projects.

Officials described technology and local programs used in detection and response. The University of Nevada, Reno fire-camera program, hosted under Alert Nevada, uses an AI anomaly detection tool with human review; Stansfield said it shortens detection times from hours to minutes. Eulig added that the program is an open-source platform available to the public and that some cameras operate year-round while others are seasonal.

Committee members asked for operational detail. Assemblymember Rich DeLong, who noted personal experience with evacuations on the Davis and Callahan fires, asked what the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest is doing on fuels in the Carson Range; Stansfield said the Carson Range is part of the Sierra Front priority landscape and that wildfire-crisis funds had increased the pace and scale of treatments there. Assemblymember Alexis Hansen asked for a definition of the Rancher Liaison Program; Eulig explained it identifies a local liaison in each valley who coordinates pre-season planning and provides local knowledge during incidents; when incidents escalate the liaison attends daily incident-management meetings to provide local input.

Officials said the Forest Service has used targeted grazing and partnered with UNR on pilot plots to study seasonality and effectiveness; Stansfield cited the recently signed Santa Rosa range management project from the Winnemucca office as an example that provides grazing flexibility to address fine fuels.

Stansfield added a note of public interest unrelated to wildfire operations: the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest was selected to provide the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree this year. He said the forest will identify candidate trees and that the Architect of the Capitol will make the final selection, likely in June.

Ending: Committee members thanked the presenters; the panel then heard a brief statement from a Eureka County speaker about rural collaboration on natural-resource issues.