Local elected officials across the region are worried that changes in federal policy are putting their communities at risk from wildfire. But public land agencies say some of the concerns are overstated.
About 160 officials from 11 Western states recently signed a letter that criticized declining wildfire preparedness efforts and what it described as “reckless and potentially illegal cuts to federal public land management agencies and hazardous fuels reduction efforts.”
“Since the beginning of the year, we have seen substantial reductions in staffing at federal public land management agencies,” the letter continued. “Layoffs, voluntary deferred resignations, and early retirements of land management professionals…have severely hampered the federal wildland firefighting force.”
A recent report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Inspector General found that more than 20,000 employees left the department between mid-January and mid-June, largely through the Deferred Resignation Program, which allowed federal employees to submit resignation letters with an effective date later in the year. Nearly 6,000 of the departures were from the U.S. Forest Service.
In their letter, the local officials asked their respective state attorneys general to review the legality of such actions, and take steps to hold the federal government accountable.
“I want to see them all have teeth and push back and be aggressive about protecting these resources, because we can't undo a fire,” said Jenn Kaaoush – a Superior, Colorado town councilmember whose home narrowly survived the catastrophic 2021 Marshall Fire.
She also said the regional response by local elected officials could serve as a model for responding to federal policy changes.
“I would like to see a standard of states collaborating to say, ‘no, you're not going to tamper with the way that we have stood up infrastructure to keep people safe and manage recoveries,’” she said.
The letter also pointed to recent analysis that found a nearly 40% drop in prescribed fire and other fuel reduction projects this year.
But the Forest Service told the Mountain West News Bureau that full reporting was delayed by the government shutdown, meaning that the analysis was based on “incomplete data.” The agency said it ultimately got to 92% of its annual goal.
“The Forest Service delivered nearly twice the level of hazardous fuel reduction critics had claimed, successfully treating more than 3.3 million acres,” the agency wrote in an email.
For its part, the Department of Interior said that it “takes wildfire response and prevention seriously and is focused on protecting lives, communities, and critical infrastructure,” adding: “Claims that the Department’s personnel actions undermine wildfire readiness are incorrect.”
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Boise State Public Radio, Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio and KJZZ in Arizona as well as NPR, with support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
