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/Silver_Unit_8960]

I still don’t really understand the advantage of this if there still needs to be coordination with land management agencies (especially for fuels and BAR) and what about militia? They’re trying to RIF/reassign/scare into quitting all the IT and HR personnel while simultaneously adding an entirely new agency and poaching thousands of fire people from USFS? That will go well 🤦‍♀️

Also the acronym is way too close to USFWS…

[u/[deleted] → u/Silver_Unit_8960]

An advantage would be that money could possibly be spent on what it’s intended for instead of being leached upon by other functions and fire being used as a piggy bank to fund things that haven’t been deemed important enough to pay for with tax payer dollars.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

You guys should be happy then. No more fire folks bringing ya down.