Media Resources
Panel: Covering wildfire under the Trump administration
Lance Cheung
No other national public lands agency is being gutted quite like the Forest Service.
The current administration is whittling the agency down to focus on providing more timber and minerals, regardless of the impact on communities, fragile ecosystems, clean water supply and wildfire risk. The realities of dismembering a 120-year-old agency are stark. Arguably most concerning is the sacked capacity to mitigate intensifying wildfire across the National Forest System.
On July 9, 2025, The Wilderness Society hosted a panel discussion and Q&A with experts on the issue. Speakers included:
- Vicki Christiansen, former USDA Forest Service Chief
- Mary Erickson, former Forest Service Supervisor at the Custer Gallatin National Forest
- Greg Aplet, Ph.D., Forest ecologist at The Wilderness Society
- Stephen Pyne, Ph.D., emeritus professor at Arizona State University and written a slew of books on the history and management of wildland and rural fire
This event was open to reporters and editors only. For questions, contact Emily Denny.
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