FY26 Trump Budget Request Details Released - New Wildfire Agency and Huge Cuts Outside WFM

[u/Flat-Suggestion-8373]

Here are some of the wildfire-related items in the FY26 budget blueprint that the White House released today (link below). Chiefly, it proposes a “new Federal Wildland Fire Service” under DOI. But also note significant changes in related areas, like the draconian cuts to the “non-fire” side of Forest Service (e.g., almost complete elimination of FS R&D, significant cut to already underfunded NFS activities, etc.).

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Fiscal-Year-2026-Discretionary-Budget-Request.pdf

[u/Subject-Amount-9346]

Consolidating everyone under DOI will be an unmitigated shitshow.  The chucklefucks writing all this up don't have a clue how anything works, much less the intricacies of the fire world.  Where will we host suppression resources that were previously FS employees?  Keep them in the same duty station of an agency they no longer work for?  Vacate these duty stations and increase response times by literal hours?  Build new duty stations right next door?  

None of those are good options and will do nothing but reduce our initial attack capacity.  

Part of me wants to see them do it and fuck it up so bad.  

[u/Past-Garlic-519 → u/Subject-Amount-9346]

It's already pretty fucked up. Try ordering anything PL4 nationally. Shit we had to order Australians as TFLD and DIVs because we didn't have any available. First time in the US, BAM! Now you're running and over seeing equipment you've never seen before 😂

[u/Subject-Amount-9346 → u/Past-Garlic-519]

I mean sure, the declining amount of middle leadership has been a known issue for years now.  But slamming everyone under one umbrella isn't going to do shit to address that.