The national organization representing retired Forest Service employees is pushing back against a newly proposed federal wildfire agency that would take firefighting away from the forest agency.
The National Association of Forest Service Retirees (NAFSR) said a National Wildland Fire Service being considered by the Trump administration and Congress would cost billions of dollars to establish and wouldn’t address the root causes of the wildfire crisis.
“We do not believe such an organizational change would contribute to addressing the problem of catastrophic wildfire, nor would it make communities safer,” the group wrote to top lawmakers on natural resources and appropriations committees in Congress on Thursday.
The letter comes as the Forest Service and the rest of the Department of Agriculture prepare to release a reorganization plan next week that could offer clues to the administration’s strategy.
