Update: Additional FY26 Trump Budget Request Details - DOI/USWFS

[u/Flat-Suggestion-8373]

Earlier today, DOI released their departmental-level summary for their FY26 budget request: https://www.doi.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2025-06/fy26bibentire-book508060125.pdf. USDA released their summary a few days ago, which was highlighted in an earlier post.

DOI’s summary includes a section for the new “U.S. Wildland Fire Service,” which would replace OWF and be a bureau-level organization within DOI. Overall the request would provide $3.7b in dedicated base funding for the service, which is equivalent to the total of the base funding provided to the the two departments for their individual WFM and haz fuels programs in FY25 ($1.1b for DOI, $2.6 for FS).

Additional details will likely be made available with the release of the account-specific congressional justification books in the coming weeks/months. These materials will give a better idea of what trade offs the Admin. would make to pay for standing up a new agency without providing a significant increase in dedicated funding above baseline levels to do so.

Of course, the normal caveats apply regarding these budget requests being an initial offer of sorts from the Admin., with Congress generally having a final say.

[u/[deleted]]

Ompff, this is gonna be a shit sandwich.

[u/Spithead → u/[deleted]]

Yeah this will a decade plus before it becomes even relatively smooth operationally. Even just the logistics of facilities (who works where, who's allowed to live in what govt housing, what happens to usfs facilities/equipment with a new agency). It'll be a huge shitshow and it'll only make our jobs harder.

There's an argument to be made that USFS should be moved under DOI. That would at least get rid of USDA/DOI interagency nonsense. Even that would take a couple years to hammer out.