Public Lands Ranchers Praise Trump Administration Order on Wildfire Prevention

WASHINGTON (June 13, 2025) – Today, the Public Lands Council (PLC) thanked President Donald J. Trump, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum for their push to make the federal government’s wildfire prevention and response strategy more efficient. As we start wildfire season, America’s western ranchers need federal agencies to prioritize wildfire response to help protect rural communities.
 
“Western communities have faced years of devastation from catastrophic wildfires, and we need every tool available to protect our nation’s scenic rangelands from burning,” said PLC President and Colorado rancher Tim Canterbury. “There is no single solution for protecting the West from catastrophic wildfire but by using livestock grazing to reduce fine fuels, increasing active land management, and making our federal response more efficient, we can protect lives and livelihoods from suffering due to wildfire.”

The Executive Order signed by President Trump directs the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to work on streamlining their wildfire programs. With public lands ranchers holding federal grazing permits on both Forest Service land (under the Department of Agriculture) and Bureau of Land Management land (under the Department of the Interior), cooperation and efficiency between these two agencies is critical for protecting federal lands.
 
“Secretary Rollins and Secretary Burgum both recognize the challenge that catastrophic wildfire poses to the West. We appreciate both cabinet officials being so focused on countering this threat and protecting our rural communities,” said PLC Executive Director Kaitlynn Glover.

–Public Lands Council