Wyden, Senate colleagues demand answers from Forest Service after sharp drop in wildfire fuel reduction work
WASHINGTON (KTVZ) -- Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said Friday he and Senate colleagues are demanding information from the Trump administration about how many hazardous fuels projects that have completed environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act have not yet been implemented – commonly referred to as “shelf stock.”
“Recent reports indicate that the U.S. Forest Service’s work to reduce hazardous fuels across the national forest system in Fiscal Year 2025 was down nearly 40% from its previous four-year average," the lawmakers said in a letter to U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz.
"In a letter to Congress on August 6, 2025, you attributed your constrained 'capacity to treat additional acres' in part to 'significant resource and personnel' needs elsewhere at the agency,” they wrote.
“Given these issues, and the Trump administration’s reduction of nearly 5,000 USFS staff, we are concerned that the decline in hazardous fuels projects stems from insufficient staffing needed to implement already-approved projects, including for mechanical thinning and prescribed fire.”
The lawmakers said the Trump administration has failed to complete hazardous fuels reduction projects at the same pace and scale as in prior years or at the rate needed in their communities.
“As you know, the best measures to protect lives and property from wildfire is preparedness – reducing fire risks before a conflagration ignites,” the lawmakers concluded.
The letter was led by Senator Michael Bennet, D-Colo. In addition to Wyden, the letter was signed by U.S. Senator Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
The text of the letter is here.
