Senate Appropriators on Thursday urged the Forest Service to be attentive to staffing levels in its looming reorganization.
Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz returned to Capitol Hill on Thursday to brief lawmakers on his agency’s $2.1 billion discretionary spending request, as well as an overhaul of the agency’s structure and wildfire operations.
The fiscal 2027 budget would mean a sharp drop from the current $6.2 billion level, with the bulk of those cuts tied to a proposal to move wildfire operations to the Interior Department.
Advertisement
“Perhaps the easiest thing to say right now is that the Forest Service has an incredibly ambitious agenda,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chair of the Interior-Environment Subcommittee.
