Report Card
Policy Report Card
Graded on whether current policy addresses threats identified by data. Updated May 13, 2026.
The federal wildfire apparatus is being dismantled in the middle of what may be the worst fire season on record. The Forest Service is losing its headquarters, 9 regional offices, 57 research facilities, and ~4,800 employees,including 1,800 firefighters the administration had to recall after realizing it had fired them weeks before fire season. Congress refused to fund the replacement agency. Treatment acreage has dropped 38%. The Colorado River is running out of water to generate electricity. And the insurance market is collapsing across the West, with Nevada now allowing insurers to exclude wildfire coverage entirely,with no backstop.
The few bright spots are at the state level. California has doubled its fire protection budget to $3.8 billion, doubled prescribed burn acreage, and passed 9 new insurance laws. Oregon established a Large Wildfire Fund. But states cannot substitute for the federal capacity being destroyed. The SNOTEL network, the fire labs, the institutional knowledge of 6,000 departed employees,all of it took decades to build. It is being taken apart in months.
The data is unambiguous: 25,560 fires have burned 1.89 million acres. Snowpack is at record lows. Melt is 3–5 weeks early. El Niño is developing. AccuWeather forecasts up to 8 million acres for the full year. The people responsible for fighting these fires have been fired, recalled, reorganized, and defunded in the span of five months.
Federal Fuels Treatment
Forest Service reduced vegetation treatment by 1.5 million fewer acres in 2025 than 2024 — a 38% decline. Prescribed burning roughly halved. FY2027 USWFS budget targets only 4.7M acres, down from 6.6M in FY2024. Treatment costs $500–$1,000/acre; suppression costs $5,000–$50,000. The math is clear. We’re choosing to pay more later.
USFS Restructuring & Capacity
The most sweeping USFS reorganization in 121 years: HQ moving to Salt Lake City, all 9 regional offices closing, replaced by 6 service centers and 15 state offices. ~4,800 employees lost in 2025 (including ~1,800 red-card holders). DOGE cuts hit 3,400 USFS staff; only 28 were upheld after court challenges. Administration had to recall firefighters it had just fired. 57 of 77 research facilities closing. Congress zeroed out the $6.5B USWFS funding request entirely.
Colorado River & Water Policy
Lake Powell at 23% capacity, receiving only 13% of normal inflows — lowest on record. Hydropower could cease by September 2026. Lake Mead at 31%, outflow (20,179 CFS) vastly exceeds inflow (7,897 CFS). Post-2026 operating rules expire October 1 — states missed both the November 2025 and February 2026 negotiation deadlines. If no agreement, Secretary of Interior imposes rules unilaterally. 22 tribal nations have senior water rights at stake.
Smoke & Air Quality Preparedness
2,500 excess deaths per year from wildfire smoke. OSHA’s heat program expired April 8, 2026 with no renewal. No federal wildfire smoke standard exists. Only CA, OR, and NV have enforceable worker protections — 8 states have nothing. Most rural fire-prone counties have zero clean air shelters. No state integrates HRRR-Smoke into emergency management.
Federal Research
57 of 77 USFS research facilities closing. Five regional stations consolidated into Fort Collins, CO. 137 of 633 STEM Ph.D.s left in 2025. No research facility will remain in Alaska (9M hectares of national forest). Labs closing in Bozeman MT, Reno NV, and across Utah. The institutional knowledge being destroyed took decades to build and cannot be reconstituted.
Insurance Market Stability
CA FAIR Plan is now the fastest-growing insurer in the state. 1 in 5 homes in extreme-risk areas lost coverage since 2019. Nevada A.B. 376 (Jan 1, 2026) allows insurers to exclude wildfire entirely — NV has no FAIR Plan or backstop. CA passed 9 new insurance laws in 2026 including SB 429 (nation’s first public wildfire catastrophe model). $22.4B in LA wildfire claims distributed since Jan 2025. 1.2M western homes at very high risk; $500B total rebuild exposure.
Tribal Co-Management
Trump administration rescinded Executive Order 14112 on tribal co-stewardship (March 14, 2025). Public Lands Rule moved for rescission. GAO found workforce cuts are hampering DOI’s ability to finalize co-stewardship agreements. H.R. 3444 proposes $50M for FY2026–2030 but hasn’t moved. Tribes steward 4.5M acres in the PNW with proven prescribed fire expertise.
State Treatment Pace
Federal decline partially offset by states. California treating ~200K acres/year in prescribed burns (doubled since 2021), $70M new grant funding announced May 7. Oregon established Large Wildfire Fund (HB 3940). But treatment capacity remains orders of magnitude below need: WA at 9,300 acres/year vs 1.25M needed (134-year backlog).
Emergency Preparedness (BRIC)
FEMA announced $1 billion in BRIC funding March 25, 2026. Application window open through July 23, 3:00 PM ET. $757M national competition + $81M building code + $162M tribal/state set-aside. 75% federal / 25% match. But funding is volatile — program was previously paused and administration has shown hostility.
Cross-Border Coordination
No integrated US-Canada fire prediction system. BC burned 2.8M hectares in 2023. WA/BC share fire weather corridors but no joint operational framework. Alaska losing all USFS research presence despite sharing the boreal fire regime with Yukon/BC.
Data & Monitoring Infrastructure
1,830 SNOTEL stations, gridMET climate, MTBS severity, 12,000+ PurpleAir sensors, 700+ EPA monitors. Firewatch demonstrates public data CAN be fused — 91% predictive accuracy from open sources alone. CA SB 429 creates nation’s first public wildfire catastrophe model. But USFS research closures threaten the science that feeds these systems.
FEMA announces $1B BRIC funding. Application window opens (closes July 23).
USDA orders Forest Service’s most sweeping reorganization in 121 years. All 9 regional offices closing.
Forest Service confirms it will proceed with reorganization without Congressional approval.
Washington declares 4th consecutive statewide drought emergency. OSHA heat program expires with no renewal.
Bureau of Reclamation cuts Lake Powell releases from 7.48M to 6.0M acre-feet/year. Flaming Gorge emergency release authorized.
USWFS chief Brian Fennessy shares priorities — but Congress has zeroed out funding for the agency he leads.
NPR reports USFS vegetation treatment dropped 1.5M acres from 2024. Prescribed burning roughly halved.
California announces $70M in new wildfire prevention grants. State fire budget at $3.8B — nearly doubled.
Lake Powell forecast to receive 13% of normal inflows — lowest on record. Hydropower at risk by September.
Halt the USFS research station closures. 57 facilities cannot be reconstituted once institutional knowledge walks out the door.
Fund the USWFS or restore USFS fire capacity. Congress zeroed out $6.5B; the agency exists on paper with no budget.
Emergency prescribed burn campaign — 50,000+ acres in Oregon’s Southern Cascades before fire season closes the window.
Submit BRIC applications before July 23. $1B available. Firewatch risk data can support evidence-based applications.
Resolve post-2026 Colorado River operating rules before October 1 deadline. 40M people depend on this water.
Fund tribal co-management — restore EO 14112 protections. Tribes have the expertise and the land.
Establish wildfire insurance backstops in states without FAIR Plans. Nevada’s new exclusion law leaves homeowners exposed.
Pass federal wildfire smoke worker protection standard. OSHA’s heat program expired with nothing to replace it.
Sources
USFS restructuring: Federal News Network, OPB, Breakthrough Institute, GovExec. Staffing: GearJunkie (5,874 public lands firings), High Country News, PBS News, Rocky Mountain PBS. Budget: Taxpayers for Common Sense, Senate Appropriations Committee. BRIC: FEMA NOFO, Grants.gov. Insurance: KQED, CA DOI, Nevada Current, Fire Adapted Colorado, Headwaters Economics. Treatment: NPR (May 4, 2026), CAL FIRE, Gov. Newsom press releases. Tribal: Native News Online, GAO/E&E News, ABA. Smoke: OSHA rulemaking docket, Cal/OSHA, Oregon OSHA, KUNR. Colorado River: Colorado Sun, Sierra Club, DU Water Law Review, Utah Public Radio. Research: Salt Lake Tribune, Science/AAAS, OPB, KUNC, Center for Western Priorities. State budgets: Oregon Capital Chronicle, WA Ecology, KTVZ. All data through May 13, 2026.