The U.S. Forest Service has been working with states and other partners to treat more acres every year in hopes of reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfire, but Forest Chief Vicki Christiansen acknowledged that a budget proposal for the next fiscal year reflects “tough choices and trade-offs” that could mean no funding for some programs.
Christiansen said during a congressional hearing Tuesday that while the budget request emphasizes the agency's most critical work, it marks a starting point for negotiations. She tried to assure lawmakers that the agency remains focused on addressing the wildfire threat and on improving forest conditions.
“We aim to build on our progress,” she said, adding that the agency is outpacing last year’s work to reduce hazard fuels.
But some lawmakers voiced concerns about the zeroing out of funding for a large-scale forest restoration program that has helped to finance prescribed fire and thinning projects in more than a dozen states over the last decade. The work has spanned from the Rockies and the more arid mountain ranges of New Mexico and Arizona to longleaf pine forests in Mississippi.