I know that there are many NGOs with folks in DC watching the budget, but I’m not on their mailing lists. So here is an update from AFRC. Sounds like Congress is not going with the Budget Request numbers… pretty much as expected.. back to what they have allocated previously (with an increase for some line items). So for now, it looks like we can stop using the Budget Request numbers and have a cheerier view of FS and BLM funding into the future, which doesn’t look like a big change from the past (but of course the IRA IIJA infusions and where they went make things confusing.) Maybe a volunteer would like to keep track of the budget process?
Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations. After a record 43-day long government shutdown, Congress passed three of the 12 regular, individual appropriations bills along with a Continuing Resolution funding the rest of the federal government through January 30. Agencies within the Interior Department and the U.S. Forest Service were funded under the CR.
On January 5, House and Senate appropriators announced agreement on an additional three appropriations bills, which included a $38.6 billion Interior and Environment appropriations bill. Overall, the measure is $2 billion below the current enacted level, but $9 billion above President Trump’s budget request that proposed major cuts.
The Forest Service would receive $3.71 billion for its non-fire programs, including $1.86 billion for the management of the National Forest System – a very slight reduction over the FY25 funding level. The proposal would maintain critical investments in key budget line items that support the Forest Service timber program, including Forest Products ($39M, level with current funding), Hazardous Fuels ($176.9M, $1.4M increase) and Roads ($73M, level with current funding).
The Trump Administration had proposed zeroing out State, Private, and Tribal forestry programs at the Forest Service. This proposal would provide $310.6M, a $27M increase over the FY25 funding level.
The bill also maintains the Forest Service’s wildland fire programs that were proposed to be consolidated at the Department of the Interior. Report language calls for an independent study of consolidating wildland fire programs to “asses the impacts a consolidation would have on reaching proposed timber targets, continued cohesion between wildland fire management and the hazardous fuel reduction program, continued use of the available red card-certified workforce….”
The Department of the Interior also avoided large reductions proposed in the President’s budget request.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) would receive $115.5M for the management of the Oregon & California Grant lands, level with the FY25 funding level and $46M above the President’s budget request. The Public Domain forestry program is also level funded at $10.3M.
If you have additional/better info from your sources, please add. High Country News has this:
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The U.S. Senate passed a limited spending package on Thursday that will largely fund several science- and land-related agencies, including the Department of Interior, the U.S. Forest Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, at current levels. Having passed the House on Jan. 8, the bill now heads to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it. |