Kirk Siegler
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
In a letter to the Forest Service chief, Democrats, including Senators Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Mark Heinrich of New Mexico,
demand a response by next week on questions like how many wildland firefighters are actually on the job and where specific staffing gaps are causing the delay in prevention work.
The Trump administration has maintained its cuts are making the forest service more efficient and the agency has what it needs to fight fires.
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The Democrats are citing a recent analysis by retired firefighters that shows the U.S.
Forest Service is 38 percent behind its own targets for prescribed fires, thinning and other projects aimed at making Western public forests less vulnerable to wildfires.
This follows President Trump's hiring freeze and doge cuts.
In a letter to the Forest Service chief, Democrats, including Senators Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Mark Heinrich of New Mexico,
demand a response by next week on questions like how many wildland firefighters are actually on the job and where specific staffing gaps are causing the delay in prevention work.
The Trump administration has maintained its cuts are making the forest service more efficient and the agency has what it needs to fight fires.
Thousands of furloughed National Park Service employees are now returning to work after the 43-day shutdown.
Many entrance gates at parks remained open but unstaffed.
One estimate by Watchdog Groups predicts the service may have lost upwards of $40 million in entrance fee revenue.
This is a big deal because it follows cuts to the agency ordered by President Trump and his Doge team,
Since January, the Park Service lost a quarter of its entire staff, from scientists to janitors to rangers.
Meanwhile, the return of the remaining staff is seen as a relief, following reports of vandalism of artifacts at Arches National Park in Utah, base jumpers off El Capitan at Yosemite, and damage to a stone wall at historic Gettysburg.