1. United States
2. Idaho
3. Letter

Oppose the consolidation of the U.S. Forest Service fire program into the new U.S. Wildland Fire Service. This is not the moment to reorganize federal firefighting. Eighteen fireline deaths so far this year already exceed the 10-year annual average of 15.5, and entrapments have hit a 20-year high. The problem is not how agencies are organized. Former Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen put it plainly: the crisis stems from drought, decades of vegetation buildup, and climate change, compounded by an "aggressive suppression at all costs" posture that she says needs to be revisited. Six firefighters died in entrapments this season alone, including four on the Colorado-Utah border in June. Reshuffling bureaucratic structures does nothing to address those root causes. What's needed is a holistic approach to fire and forest management, not a top-down restructuring that will consume agency attention and resources during one of the most dangerous fire seasons on record. Block this consolidation and push instead for policy that reduces fuel loads, manages risk intelligently, and keeps firefighters alive.