Congress provides no funding for new agency.
The Department of the Interior recently announced the next steps in establishing the U.S. Wildland Fire Service and named Brian Fennessy to lead the new agency, even though the final version of the Congressional Appropriations Bill does not include funding for the new Wildland Fire Service.
President Donald Trump ordered consolidation of federal firefighting efforts — currently spread across the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs — in Executive Order 14308, signed June 12, 2025. The interior Department’s announcement states that the new Wildland Fire Service will “streamline decision-making, improve operational efficiency and enhance the Department’s ability to respond quickly and effectively to wildfire threats.”
But as recently retired FSEEE Executive Director Andy Stahl told the Daily Montanan, “It won’t change anything…. Nothing in this executive order is going to move that 98% needle,” he said, referring to the Forest Service’s 98% success rate for containing fires before they burn 100 acres.
New Wildland Fire Service Chief Fennessy said, “Wildfire response depends on coordination, clarity and speed. This initial planning effort is about bringing programs together, strengthening cooperation across the Department and building a framework that better supports firefighters and the communities they serve.” Noticeably absent is any reference to Forest Service firefighters, who constitute the largest firefighting force in the country.
Firefighters of all stripes, especially those working for federal agencies, deserve better support than they’ve received to date. Likewise, protecting communities is of paramount importance. Fennessy says all the right words, but his path to success is complicated. Can he secure better support for the firefighters who risk their lives to protect us? Can he provide the kind of leadership that will result in safer at-risk communities?
To accomplish these goals, any leader would need to elevate his performance, especially in the precipitous environment of wildland fire. Streamlining and consolidating federal firefighting resources also offers the promise of fiscal responsibility. But can Fennessy shepherd Forest Service firefighters into an entirely different cabinet-level department while maintaining the Forest Service’s 98% success rate at containing wildfires?
While wildland firefighters deserve better pay and better job security, long-term protections for at-risk communities require shifting policies to focus on minimizing home ignitability. While Chief Fennessy may be an exemplary leader for our firefighters, his ability to implement real solutions to mitigate the wildfire crisis is likely too limited to have a measurable impact.
The fact that Congress has denied Interior’s $6.5 billion request to fund the new agency, choosing instead to maintain funding for the five existing agencies, suggests that any potential benefits of streamlining wildland firefighting efforts will be slow in coming as bureaucrats fight for pieces of the funding pie to support positions in their respective agencies.
