U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich, Amy Klobuchar, Jeff Merkley, and others have sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum urging him to stop the creation of a new U.S. Wildland Fire Service (USWFS). The lawmakers are concerned that this move could separate wildfire management from land management agencies and result in reduced staffing and effectiveness during what is expected to be an active fire season.
The Trump Administration restructured firefighting efforts within the Department of the Interior (DOI) without congressional approval or transparency regarding funding for the new program. The senators argue that such rapid changes could disrupt wildfire preparedness and response capabilities.
“We are concerned that the DOI is advancing a rapid and consequential restructuring of wildfire management without adequate analysis, transparency, or planning to prevent disruption during what is expected to be a significant fire season or to safeguard long-term wildfire preparedness,” the lawmakers wrote.
They added, “While consolidation could be an effective strategy to improve efficiency and coordination, the Administration’s approach risks diverting critical resources and funding away from land management agencies without any public plan to replace those capabilities. Equally troubling, the Department has not provided Congress with any information detailing how decoupling wildfire management from land management agencies is expected to improve the health of public lands, enhance communication and coordination, or better protect lives and private property from catastrophic wildfire.”
The letter points out that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) relies on integrated teams for vegetation management, hazardous fuels reduction, grazing programs, habitat conservation, and post-fire recovery. Lawmakers warn that further staff reductions combined with separating fire management from land stewardship would limit proactive landscape management.
“The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) relies on an integrated workforce of land managers, scientists, fuels specialists, and field staff to plan and implement vegetation management, hazardous fuels reduction, grazing programs, habitat conservation, and post-fire recovery,” they stated. “Further reductions in staffing, combined with improperly severing wildfire management from land stewardship will undermine the agency’s capacity to manage landscapes proactively.”
The letter also raises concerns about how other agencies—such as the National Park Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs—would continue fulfilling their missions under these changes.
“Mismanagement of fire management has life-or-death consequences and places billions of taxpayer dollars at risk. Suppression alone cannot be the sole strategy for addressing wildfire, and swift structural changes that undermine planning, prevention, preparedness, and recovery will only worsen outcomes,” according to the letter.
Lawmakers noted that recent appropriations law requires DOI participation in a study examining impacts of consolidating federal wildfire programs but does not authorize transferring U.S. Forest Service firefighting functions to DOI. They emphasized that such transfers require explicit congressional authorization.
In their correspondence with Secretary Burgum, legislators requested detailed information about which positions would be consolidated into USWFS; employee locations; branding costs; pay structures; plans for maintaining scientific support roles; coordination between USWFS and existing agencies; communication plans with state/local/tribal partners; training provisions; decision-making authority over resource allocation; retention of agency-specific expertise; as well as assurances regarding firefighter readiness amid longer fire seasons.
Signatories include Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Representative Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), alongside Ranking Members Heinrich, Klobuchar, Merkley Huffman,and Pingree.
