093_HR0324 LRB093 11943 HSS 16413 r 1 HOUSE RESOLUTION 2 WHEREAS, The National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) 3 is made up of the USDA Forest Service; four Department of the 4 Interior agencies: the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the 5 National Park Service (NPS), the Bureau of Indian Affairs 6 (BIA), and the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS); and state 7 forestry agencies through the National Association of State 8 Foresters; and 9 WHERES, The purpose of NWCG is to coordinate programs of 10 the participating wildfire management agencies in order to 11 avoid wasteful duplication and to provide a means of 12 constructively working together; its goal is to provide more 13 effective execution of each agency's fire management program; 14 the group provides a formalized system to agree upon 15 standards of training, equipment, qualifications, and other 16 operational functions; and 17 WHEREAS, The NWCG believes the goal of effective wildfire 18 management is best served through coordinating the resources 19 of all fire management agencies, irrespective of land 20 jurisdiction; it supports the concepts of full partnership, 21 trust, and mutual assistance among the fire management 22 agencies; the group strongly supports professionalism in all 23 facets of fire management; and 24 WHEREAS, The NWCG strives to bring the best talent to 25 bear on vital issues in a timely manner, irrespective of 26 agency affiliation as well as striving to bring economy, 27 efficiency, and quality to all activities; it practices 28 concepts of total mobility, closest forces, and shared 29 resources without geographic limitations; as a group, the 30 NWCG constantly searches for areas of agreement to further 31 the effectiveness of the wildfire management program; 32 therefore, be it -2- LRB093 11943 HSS 16413 r 1 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 2 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 3 we strongly encourage the Director of Natural Resources and 4 the Office of the Illinois State Forester to join the 5 National Wildfire Coordinating Group; and be it further 6 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 7 presented to the Director of Natural Resources and the Office 8 of the Illinois State Forester.