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Subcommittee chair presses Forest Service on proposed wildfire reorganization and agency impacts
Summary
The subcommittee chair questioned the administration's FY26 budget proposal to move most wildfire personnel from the U.S. Forest Service into a new U.S. Wildland Fire Service inside the Department of the Interior, asking Forest Service leaders to explain operational, staffing and state-tribal partnership implications.
The chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies opened the hearing by asking the Forest Service chief to explain the administration's FY26 budget proposal that would shift the bulk of wildfire personnel and activities out of the U.S. Forest Service into a newly created U.S. Wildland Fire Service inside the Department of the Interior.
"The president's budget request proposes a drastic reorganization of our nation's wildfire capabilities," the chair said, asking how the administration envisions the restructuring working and what it would mean for the Forest Service as an agency.
The chair said the subcommittee has historically approached wildfire preparedness on a bipartisan basis and acknowledged that new ideas for efficiency may be needed. Still, he warned the proposed plan could "upend your agency and its relationship to fire and forest management," and asked for clarity on operational roles, workforce implications and continuing collaboration with states and tribes.
The chair also noted that Secretary Burgum was testifying before another committee at the same time and that similar questions on the reorganization are being raised across congressional oversight forums.
Beyond organizational structure, the chair pressed on practical concerns: whether a transfer of functions would disrupt existing state, tribal and local agreements, how incident command and local initial responders would interface with a new Interior-based service, and what transition plans and workforce protections would be put in place.
He emphasized that the hearing seeks concrete explanations rather than partisan argument: "I'd like to hear from you today about how the administration envisions this whole restructuring working and really what it means to the Forest Service as an agency." The subcommittee signaled it expects detailed implementation plans and assurances about continuity of operations and intergovernmental cooperation.
The hearing then moved on to other budget topics; no formal action was taken on the reorganization during this session.
