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Lawmakers urge federal wildfire consolidation not to reduce local response capacity

House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee · February 18, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

The committee heard Senate Joint Memorial 8015 asking Congress to ensure the new consolidated U.S. Wildland Fire Service preserves firefighting capacity and avoids reorganizations during active fire seasons. Tribal groups, conservationists, industry and unions urged robust federal capacity and sustained state funding.

On Feb. 18 the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee reviewed Senate Joint Memorial 8015, which asks Congress to ensure the federal consolidation of wildland firefighting programs results in operational capacity, avoids reductions during active fire periods, and protects firefighter health and natural resources.

Lily Smith, committee staff, explained the memorial responds to an…

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