A New Wildfire Agency, Massive Grant Cuts, And A Hiring Freeze. An update on all three.

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I cover the proposal for the new National Wildfire Fire Service. This has been discussed for decades, and an effort to finally streamline the wildfire bureaucracy now has bipartisan support. It would consolidate all fire agencies under one umbrella.

The USDA sent out a policy email stating that wildland firefighters are not exempt from the hiring freeze, which is paused until the Office of Personnel Management reviews the positions being offered. This issue needs to be resolved quickly to ensure an appropriate workforce can be in place for the summer fire season. It should be a priority.

Wasteful spending by the Wildfire Agencies is under heavy scrutiny right now. All grants have been paused while they are sorted through. Last night, I looked through some grants and spending; some wild things are in there. This is an area of focus for those working on reducing costs.

One foundation that received $564M from the Forest Service has the acting Chief of the Forest Service on its board of directors. I was assured that this was being looked into.

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