I have thirty-eight years of experience in forest management with special expertise in law enforcement. I was employed by the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service and retired as the Regional Special Agent in Charge for the Pacific Southwest Region after eighteen years in that position.
I initiated, designed, and implemented the expansion of the Pacific Southwest Region’s law enforcement organization from three Special Agents (Criminal Investigators) to fifty-two (Federal Criminal Investigator School graduates) and no academy trained law enforcement officers to one hundred fifty (Federal Law Enforcement Training Center graduates) during my tenure. My primary law enforcement management theme centered on the need for a larger, more professional armed law enforcement presence; 2) that high professional standards were maintained; and 3) that this significant increase in law enforcement personnel was cost effective and demonstrated with agency requirements.
My previous twenty years with the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service consisted of work as the South Zone Criminal Investigator for three years prior to being selected as the Regional Special Agent in Charge. I held a wide variety of positions in Fire Management & Recreation prior to being selected as the South Zone Criminal Investigator, all of which had law enforcement and investigation responsibilities and the Regional Special Agent in Charge. Management and supervisory responsibilities were an inherent part of my duties during eighteen of this twenty-year period.
This article revisits Steve Pearce’s request for a post‑fire report after New Mexico’s 2012 Whitewater‑Baldy and Little Bear megafires, outlining Bill Derr’s findings, NWA’s four core principles, and the call to restore the 10 A.M. Policy, end “let burn” strategies, treat fuels, and actively manage
The National Wildfire Alliance proposes a federal executive order outlining wildfire emergency response, forest management reforms, fuel reduction strategies, and policy changes addressing wildfire risk nationwide.
Former Forest Service special agent William Derr traces the history of the 10 A.M. Policy, critiques “let it burn” wildfire approaches, discusses H.R. 934, and calls for early detection, aggressive suppression, and stronger leadership.
The 2016 National Wildfire Institute letter urges President Trump to restore active national forest management, reduce catastrophic wildfire risk, protect water, and revive rural economies.
