Cortez Masto presses Forest Service on end of women’s wildfire boot camps, requests staffing numbers

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto pressed Forest Service staff during a meeting about why a women-focused wildfire "boot camps" program was discontinued under the Trump administration and asked how many Forest Service employees in Nevada and the Lake Tahoe Basin had left since the start of the administration; a Forest Service staff member said the agency did not have those numbers on hand but would provide them.

Cortez Masto said she was "upset to learn that the Trump administration scrapped the women in the wildfire boot camps program" and described the program as one offering "programs that were offered to women to learn the basics of wildland firefighting over a 2 week course." She said the West faces "longer, hotter seasons" and argued "we need all hands on deck" for wildfire response.

A Forest Service staff member replied, "Sir Cortez, I don't have those numbers. We can get those to you," and later defended the agency's approach to training, saying leaders had reviewed contracts and that the department offers "training for all firefighters, not just women." The staff member told Cortez Masto, "We have numerous opportunities to train firefighters, not just focusing on women."

Cortez Masto pushed back, saying the boot camps were not merely a gender-specific program but a training pathway that "provide[d] programs to train firefighters, whether they are women or men," and asked why the agency would discontinue training that could increase the pool of wildland firefighters. She closed the exchange by saying, "Alright. Well, I disagree. And I think it's just a it's a poor it's a poor use of of the administration's, discretion."

No formal vote or decision was taken at the meeting. The only substantive commitment recorded in the exchange was the Forest Service staff member's offer to provide the requested staffing numbers for Nevada and the Lake Tahoe Basin. The discussion was presented as an interchange about training strategy and staffing data, not as a policy change or funding decision.

Additional clarifying details mentioned in the exchange included the characterization of the boot camps as a two-week introductory wildland firefighting course, and participants' concerns about recruitment and retention for wildland firefighting during extended fire seasons. The staff member said the department and its contract and assistance teams had reviewed relevant contracts and training pathways but did not specify any replaced or alternative programs beyond stating that training opportunities exist for all firefighters.

Observers seeking the staffing numbers Cortez Masto requested should note the staff member's offer that the agency would provide those figures; the numbers were "not on hand" at the meeting and therefore were not reported there.