Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.
On November 3 – 4, 2021, the Aspen Institute Energy & Environment Program and The Nature Conservancy convened a hybrid in-person/virtual workshop in Washington, D.C. – the first in a series on U.S. wildfire resilience. This convening brought together experts to discuss the expected surge in federal funding for wildfire resilience and the ability of the U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service) to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy in partnership. Participants included Forest Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) leadership, conservation partners, state and tribal government representatives, among others. All participants recognized the potential historic nature of a surge in funding and shared a mutual interest in helping the Forest Service successfully deliver on the promise. This summary captures some of the key topics of discussion. While this workshop focused on the Forest Service’s role in implementation, the takeaways may be relevant to and applied to other federal agencies and non-federal stakeholders who will share the responsibility for implementing surges in funding.
