The President’s fiscal year (FY) 2027 budget request for the U.S. Forest Service (USFS)—much like his FY2026 request last year—proposes widespread cuts, the elimination of several offices, and the transfer of all federal wildfire funding responsibilities to a new agency within the Department of the Interior (DOI). Without additional details and increased transparency, these major structural and funding changes could create long-term risks for taxpayers, communities, and our public forests.
Additionally, the budget seeks to “refocus” the Forest Service on its “core land and resource management mission through timber production.” Funding for federal timber sale management would be quadrupled, from $39 million to $175 million. This is concerning for taxpayers, as the Forest Service has a history of money-losing timber sales—particularly in areas like the Tongass National Forest, which yielded a net loss of $1.73 billion from FY1980 to 2019.
Forest Service Budget Requests and Appropriations ($, millions)
- Forest Service Operations, which covers employee salaries and other administrative expenses, would be cut by 44% compared to last year’s funding.
- Forest and Rangeland Research, which houses the agency’s research programs, would be cut entirely. The budget “does not request new funding for Forest and Rangeland Research; instead, the agency will strategically utilize existing carryover balances to responsibly and effectively terminate research programs and close research stations.”
- State, Private, & Tribal Forestry, which provides technical and financial assistance to nonfederal landowners, would be cut entirely. The budget “does not request new funding for these program; instead, the agency will strategically utilize existing carryover balances to responsibly and effectively terminate these programs.”
- National Forest System, which oversees the management of federal grasslands and forests, would be cut by 24% compared to last year’s funding. However, most of that reduction would come from moving the Hazardous Fuels line item to DOI, bring the real “cut” down to 17%. Similar to last year, budget seeks to eliminate the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program, which funds ecological restoration projects on priority forest landscapes. Notably, the budget would more than quadruple the Forest Products line item—which funds the federal timber sale program, among other activities—from $39 million to $175 million.
- Capital Improvement & Maintenance, which supports USFS infrastructure, would be cut by 28% compared to last year’s funding. Of the $99 million requested, $73 million would be directed to roads (same as last year’s funding), $18 million to facilities (decrease from last year), and $8 million to trails (decrease from last year).
- Land Acquisition, which funds the acquisition and improvement of National Forest System lands, would be increased from $2.5 million to $7 million. The bump is driven by an increased funding request for the Range Betterment Fund, which improves federal land used for grazing.
- Wildland Fire Management Account and Reserve Fund, which funds the personnel, equipment, and immediate post-fire risk mitigation necessary for wildfire suppression on federal lands, would be moved entirely from the USFS to a new agency at DOI.
- Photo by Patrick Hendry on Unsplash
