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/Shoddy_Pay5822]

Best of luck teaching all the FS folks how to do their own times in QuickTime let alone getting them all onboarded, PIV card issued. physical and medically cleared, background investigated. DOI is already a small support org. Overloaded with work. Cant imagine them taking on the FS firefighter workforce all at once.

[u/BakedBones1207 → u/Shoddy_Pay5822]

Why go through all that work when you can privatize?

[u/Ok-Measurement-8537 → u/BakedBones1207]

Seems to be the plan: 1) Create unsustainable conditions within the agencies that are then viewed by the public as a failure 2) Privatize

[u/Past-Garlic-519 → u/Ok-Measurement-8537]

They will just blame these out of control fires on "climate change". Which is the same PIOs tell the people when we lose RXs and incidents.