MEMO: Covering wildfire and public lands

As wildfires intensify across the West, the threat to communities is exacerbated by a series of recent administration actions. These include thousands of layoffs, firings and forced retirements at the Forest Service (including affecting staff with wildfire expertise), budget cuts and malfeasance, and chaotic consolidation and reorganization of public land agencies themselves. 

This memo outlines possible story angles to consider when reporting on this dangerous wildfire season, with an eye toward the decisions the administration is making right now to reshape staffing, funding and federal land management priorities.

Seizing on dangerous wildfires to push irresponsible development 

Though the Los Angeles fires were urban fires caused by factors like human activity, extreme winds and dry ecosystems exacerbated by climate change, the administration embraced the unfounded idea that they were driven by mismanagement of nearby national forests.  

In response, President Trump signed Executive Order “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production”, which greenlit logging on public lands, allowing industry to sidestep critical environmental laws like the Endangered Species Act and National Environmental Policy Act.  

As more fires emerge this season, so will the administration and its allies’ cynical use of policy proposals that justify ramping up logging in backcountry forests yet do nothing to protect communities. 

Wildfires are more likely near roads. The administration is ignoring that. 

Fires are four times more likely to start near a road than in roadless forests, suggesting that building roads into roadless areas is likely to result in more fires, according to new research from The Wilderness Society. Nonetheless, the administration is pushing for expanded timber harvest under the guise of fire management in their justification for repealing the Roadless Area Conservation Rule – a conservation rule that protects 45 million acres of public forests from roadbuilding and development. 

In a recent Senate hearing, Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz affirmed that fires are likely to occur near roads, where people are. More roads mean more cigarettes thrown out of car windows or hot catalytic converters igniting dry grass. But the administration is ignoring all that (and Schultz’s accurate assessment). If they get their way, they’ll be inviting more wildfire at a time when federal fire-fighting capacity has been radically reduced. 

Chaotic re-organization and cuts could stifle emergency response and mitigation work 

When the first Trump administration proposed moving the BLM headquarters to Grand Junction, Colorado, 87% of staff chose to leave rather than relocate. The Forest Service’s impending re-organization and relocation to Salt Lake City will likely touch down later in the summer, and a similar flight of staff is likely, resulting in less capacity and expertise to properly manage a dangerous wildfire season.  

This re-organization piggybacks off what had already been radical cuts and lost capacity at the agency, dating back to the “Valentines Day massacre,” when Secretary Brooke Rollins fired thousands of Forest Service staff. Notably, 700 of the departed staff carried “red cards," meaning they had special certification to support emergencies like wildfire. Afterward, a campaign of systematic harassment and intimidation resulted in widespread resignations, including many staff who assist with wildfire efforts. As a result, over 5,000 people staff, 15% of the agency, have left, according to a 2025 report. 

In addition to the agency’s ability to fight wildfire, this large-scale reduction in staff and chaos imposed on the Forest Service is already stifling fuels reduction work, which mitigates fire risk. In fact, a recent analysis from Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, found that hazardous fuels reduction work on U.S. Forest Service lands was down by 38% as of September 2025 compared to the previous four years.   

Consolidated fire operations could disrupt efficiency during high-risk season 

Acting against congressional direction, the administration recently made the staffing changes necessary to enact the new U.S. Wildland Fire Service that was launched in January. Every agency within the Department of the Interior now has their wildland fire operations operating out of a single centralized office in Washington, DC. Under agency guidelines established in 2019, these staffing changes required approval from appropriations committee leadership—which they seemingly never received (see more). 

There is realistic concern that the U.S. Forest Service will eventually be pulled into this consolidated fire approach, too. Experts and former Forest Service staff are warning against the move. These consolidated fire operations will emphasize fire suppression over vegetation management, an outdated approach that subverts the natural ecological role of fire and ultimately causes overgrowth that fuels more mega-fires in the long run (especially as climate change worsens).   

The blame game: Who is at fault for mega-fires? 

Eight years ago, raging wildfires in California resulted in a game of blaming conservationists and a “worthless fish called a smelt,” and included calls to “rake” more forests. This year, a similar narrative from the administration could dominate as the West grows warmer and drier. 

Recent cuts to the public land agencies’ ability to manage for wildfire tell a simple story: 

• Less staff and capacity to fight wildfire: Forced retirements, layoffs and firings have resulted in 15% less staff at the Forest Service, many of which support wildfire response. 
• Zeroed out budgets to fund wildfire mitigation: The White House has now twice attempted to drastically cut the agency’s budget. In 2025, the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget included a staggering 65% budget cut for the USFS that was mostly rejected by Congress. This year, the President’s proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget once again included a heinous cut—this time of 75%.  In a budget hearing, Senator Heinrich called the proposal a “Roadmap on How to Dismantle the Forest Service”. 
• Stripped land expertise from wildfire management: The new “U.S. Wildland Fire Service” will remove wildfire readiness away from field managers who are closest to the ground and understand the resource the best.  
• Added chaos to an agency already reeling: Secretary Rollins is relocating the Forest Service's headquarters to Utah, throwing chaos into an agency reeling from devastating cuts and capacity shortages.  

The Wilderness Society can connect you with wildland firefighters, former Forest Service staff, forest ecologists and forest policy experts to support and inform your reporting. Don’t hesitate to reach out: Emily Denny, Senior Communications Manager, edenny@tws.org