Protect Our Forests from Wildfire: Stop Trump’s Cuts to USFS

Our forests are in crisis — and so are the animals who call them home. At the very moment when wildfire seasons are growing longer, hotter, and more destructive, the Trump Administration is slashing the very staff responsible for preventing those fires, protecting wildlife habitat, and keeping our forests healthy. Entire crews who clear dangerous brush, restore damaged ecosystems, and safeguard wildlife corridors are being laid off. Without them, countless animals — from elk and owls to endangered species already struggling for survival — will face even greater threats as megafires become more frequent and more destructive.

These cuts aren’t just harmful — they’re dangerous. And leaders in the Senate are sounding the alarm. Senators Gallego, Merkley, Klobuchar, Heinrich, and others have demanded answers from the administration, warning that the mass staffing reductions at the U.S. Forest Service are already undermining wildfire-prevention efforts across the country. Their message is clear: gutting the Forest Service now is reckless, shortsighted, and puts ecosystems, wildlife, and communities directly in harm’s way.

In their letter, these senators warn that the cuts have already caused a sharp drop in the Forest Service’s ability to complete essential wildfire-prevention work. The acres treated for hazardous-fuel reduction this year have plummeted compared to recent years — leaving forests packed with dry debris and overgrowth that can turn a single spark into a devastating inferno. They stress that the Forest Service simply cannot meet its basic responsibilities without adequate staffing, and that gutting the agency now is a recipe for more destructive fires, more damaged habitat, and more suffering for wildlife.

The senators also raise serious concerns about the administration’s failure to explain these staffing decisions or provide any plan to protect communities and ecosystems going forward. They note that the Forest Service is already struggling to recruit and retain the highly skilled specialists who safeguard forest health and wildlife habitat. Cutting thousands of these positions at once only deepens the crisis and threatens decades of progress in restoration, conservation, and endangered-species protection.

We call on the President, the Secretary of Agriculture, and Congress to immediately:

1: Reverse the Trump Administration’s staff cuts at the U.S. Forest Service, reinstate laid-off wildfire-prevention and habitat-management workers, and halt all future planned reductions.

2: Restore full staffing levels nationwide so the Forest Service can carry out essential wildfire-prevention tasks, including hazardous-fuel reduction, thinning, prescribed burns, habitat restoration, and forest-health work.

3: Provide the emergency and long-term funding required to protect wildlife habitat, preserve forest ecosystems, and prevent catastrophic fires before they ignite — not just respond after the damage is done.

Our forests cannot protect themselves. Wildlife cannot speak for themselves. It’s up to us to stop these dangerous cuts, defend our public lands, and make sure the animals who depend on these forests still have a future.

Add your name to demand immediate action.