Politics > Government

A New National Wildfire Organization Would Be A Disaster

Forests and their surrounding communities need local knowledge and coordination, which a national system would almost certainly destroy.

Gary Schiff | April 11, 2026

The Administration is making some major changes to how the nation’s National Forests are managed. Some of them may well turn out to be quite positive. Eliminating an entire management layer means more money and responsibility will be focused on the ground and closer to states and local communities. Aligning the forests by state boundaries will help with state advocacy for the national forests within their boundaries.

However, removing wildfire-fighting responsibilities from the nation’s premier wildfire-fighting agency could have disastrous consequences for the future of forests and surrounding communities.

Firefighting needs line officer oversight. I can attest to this as a former manager of the Carson Ranger District (Reno/Carson/Lake Tahoe area), one of the more complex wildfire programs in the nation. Here are some illustrations.

The line officer develops agreements with state and local governments regarding where local sheriffs will patrol during periods of high fire danger to address potential fire starts. For example, where are the party spots in the woods? Will a national organization have that knowledge and those relationships?

I recall we worked with state and county governments to prioritize fuels........

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