Having served for the last ten years as the Senior Professional Staff member on the US Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, overseeing the wildland fire and forestry portfolios, Bryan Petit has been instrumental in the creation and enactment the last decade’s most important pieces of wildfire-related legislation. These include the Wildfire Management title in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the Wildfire Management Technology Advancement Act, and the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act.

Bryan previously worked as a wildland firefighter and a prescribed burn boss, but is a forester
by training—having earned an undergraduate degree in Forestry from Warren Wilson College in North Carolina and a Master of Forestry degree from Yale University. Bryan has worked for several Federal and State agencies and non-profits prior to beginning to work on natural resources policy. Upon moving to Washington, DC, where he currently resides, Bryan served as a career staffer in the Office of the Secretary at USDA, advising policy officials on forestry and wildfire matters.  Upon completion of the Senior Executive Service-Career Development Program, Bryan transferred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where he began staffing then-Chairman Ron Wyden (of Oregon).  Now, he staffs Senator Joe Manchin (of West Virginia) who serves as the leading Democrat on the Committee.