Public commenter accuses agency of treating fewer acres; agency says treatment levels are similar

A public commenter said the agency has treated "half as many acres to reduce wildfire risk" this fiscal year compared with the last year of the Biden administration and asked why. An agency staff member replied that the agency has "treated, similar acres" to previous years and noted the administration "came in in February."

The exchange occurred during a public meeting when the commenter said the agency, "and we're most of the way through the fiscal year, hasn't even treated half as many acres to reduce wildfire risk as were treated in the last year of the Biden administration. Why is that?" The staff member responded: "So, sir, we actually have treated, similar acres that we've done in previous years. And so this administration came in in February. So in terms of basically treating acres, there's not been a major reduction to acres treated, for the last year for this year."

The commenter told meeting organizers, "We will get to you those numbers because that is factually inaccurate," and raised concerns about conditions in Southern Oregon, saying the agency is "not getting the help in terms of stepping up to deal with emergencies." The commenter also linked the dispute over treatment levels to broader policy concerns, saying recent agency arguments for selling public lands were rejected by the public and that they would "fight that argument every step of the way."

The transcript does not include detailed acreage figures, the name of the agency, or a date for when the current administration began. The staff member said the administration started in February but did not specify the year. Meeting remarks also mentioned timber production data and alleged differences with the prior federal administration, but those data were not provided in the record.

No formal motion or decision on fuels treatment, timber production, or public-land sales appears in the transcript excerpt. The exchange is a public comment and agency response recorded at the meeting; it does not itself direct staff to take action nor document a vote.