US Forest Service reduced funding for 2025 implications

[longrunner]

It's always shocking to me to hear that a government agency is incapable of staying in the black on their budget, it's really not that hard, and with the amount of waste that seems to occur it's inexcusable.

Well, congress gave us a 5% pay increase (keeps up with inflation for this year) but kept the budget flat, not the FS's doing.

There is plenty of waste in the private sector as well, we all have been past a project site where there are several "supervisors" overseeing one person working.

 

[Beignet]

Good article in High Country News about the seasonal employee cuts. It’s also on Vox if you’ve maxed out your free HCN articles and aren’t a subscriber.

I can’t help but wonder if the anticipated maintenance shortfalls help feed the myth that the federal government isn’t the optimal steward of our shared public lands.

 

[CMF]

I wouldn't be sad if they closed some roads and made more roadless area here in MS.
They could save some money by closing some of the offices. I've been in a few(around the country) to get firewood permits and it doesn't seem like much going on. It's cool to see some taxidermy and local deadheads but at what cost?
Firewood permits could easily be created and maintained on an app(and you could get on a weekend)

 

[ismith]

https://www.usdebtclock.org/

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

On the topic of wildfires, the trickle down is real. There are hundreds of private contractors, VFDs, Counties, Municipalities that are all Red Card deployable. These entities may contract or interagency assist, but no matter how they get there, they are paid for by the USFS budget. I know the lumber prices we see at Home Depot don’t reflect the vast resource of timber we have in USA, but just imagine if the Herculean suppression effort didn’t happen annually. Just what then would Boise Cascade consider a fair price?
And that’s just wildfire. There’s also so much more in the way of contracts alone that comes out of the same budget.