Title 16 — ConservationRelease 119-73

§551d Wildland firefighter safety

Title 16 › Chapter CHAPTER 3— - FORESTS; FOREST SERVICE; REFORESTATION; MANAGEMENT › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - GENERAL PROVISIONS › § 551d

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretaries must send Congress a yearly report about wildland firefighter safety practices, training, and activities for the previous calendar year. The report is due by March of the year after the year it covers. Secretaries: the Interior Secretary (through BLM, Fish and Wildlife, National Parks, and Indian Affairs) and the Agriculture Secretary (through the Forest Service Chief). Wildland firefighter: anyone who fights wildland fires under those Secretaries’ direction or under a contract or compact with a federally recognized Indian tribe. Each report must describe safety practices and changes, give statistics and trends, estimate Federal money spent on safety and training, report progress on implementing recommendations from the Inspector General, GAO, OSHA, or agency fatality reports from the past 10 years, and summarize safety rules in contracts with non‑Federal entities plus actions taken to enforce them and the results.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §551d

Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In this section:

(1)The term “Secretaries” means—

(A)the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Directors of the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and

(B)the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service.

(2)The term “wildland firefighter” means any person who participates in wildland firefighting activities—

(A)under the direction of either of the Secretaries; or

(B)under a contract or compact with a federally recognized Indian tribe.

(b)(1)The Secretaries shall jointly submit to Congress an annual report on the wildland firefighter safety practices of the Secretaries, including training programs and activities for wildland fire suppression, prescribed burning, and wildland fire use, during the preceding calendar year.

(2)Each report under paragraph (1) shall—

(A)be submitted by not later than March of the year following the calendar year covered by the report; and

(B)include—

(i)a description of, and any changes to, wildland firefighter safety practices, including training programs and activities for wildland fire suppression, prescribed burning, and wildland fire use;

(ii)statistics and trend analyses;

(iii)an estimate of the amount of Federal funds expended by the Secretaries on wildland firefighter safety practices, including training programs and activities for wildland fire suppression, prescribed burning, and wildland fire use;

(iv)progress made in implementing recommendations from the Inspector General, the Government Accountability Office, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or an agency report relating to a wildland firefighting fatality issued during the preceding 10 years; and

(v)a description of—

(I)the provisions relating to wildland firefighter safety practices in any Federal contract or other agreement governing the provision of wildland firefighters by a non-Federal entity;

(II)a summary of any actions taken by the Secretaries to ensure that the provisions relating to safety practices, including training, are complied with by the non-Federal entity; and

(III)the results of those actions.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 551d

Title 16 — Conservation

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73