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Committee chair opens hearing on Forest Service wildfire readiness, headquarters move and Fix Our Forests Act
Summary
The Senate Committee on Agriculture opened a hearing to examine the U.S. Forest Service’s wildfire preparedness as fire season begins, an announced headquarters move to Salt Lake City, and progress on the Fix Our Forests Act reported by the committee last October.
The chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry opened a hearing to examine the U.S. Forest Service’s management of national forests, wildfire preparedness and an announced agency headquarters move.
The chair, speaking at the start of the hearing, said the Forest Service manages roughly 193 million acres of forest and grasslands and highlighted the agency’s role supporting local economies and recreation. “I welcome our witness, chief of the U.S. Forest Service, Tom Schultz,” the chair said, noting the hearing was timely as summer and peak fire season begin.
The chair cited recent wildfire losses and concern about capacity as the season begins: “Last year, we saw over 5 million acres burned with another 8.9 million burned in 2024,” they said. The chair asked Chief Tom Schultz to explain the Forest Service’s strategy and readiness for upcoming fire activity.
The hearing also addressed an organizational change announced earlier this year: the U.S. Department of Agriculture has said it will move Forest Service headquarters to Salt Lake City, Utah, and transition from a region-based structure to a state-based structure. The chair said they understand the objective of placing staff closer to the communities they serve but expressed interest in hearing how the Forest Service will maintain mission continuity during the move.
The chair said the committee reported the Fix Our Forests Act in October of last year and thanked members from both parties for supporting the bill. The chair said they are committed to working with leadership to advance the legislation to the president’s desk and indicated the bill would provide the Forest Service with streamlined authorities intended to reduce catastrophic wildfires and improve forest health.
Tom Schultz, the Forest Service chief, was introduced as the committee’s witness for the discussion; the hearing proceeded with an expectation that the witness would detail the agency’s operational readiness, wildfire response capacity and implementation implications of the announced headquarters move.
The hearing continued beyond the chair’s opening remarks with committee questioning of the witness scheduled to follow.
