President Donald Trump took environmentally focused executive action on June 12, issuing memoranda concerning wildfires and the Columbia River.
The first, titled “Empowering Commonsense Wildfire Prevention and Response,” called for the streamlining of federal wildland fire governance, the encouragement of local wildfire preparation and response, and the strengthening and modernizing of wildfire mitigation and response.
“The devastation of the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires shocked the American people and highlighted the catastrophic consequences when State and local governments are unable to quickly respond to such disasters,” the president wrote in the memorandum. “In too many cases, including in California, a slow and inadequate response to wildfires is a direct result of reckless mismanagement and lack of preparedness.”...