Federal Grant Delays and New Policies Restrict Controlled Burns on Public Lands

U.S. Department of Agriculture added new conditions on immigration, diversity hiring, and climate policies. The delays affect the Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program, which was launched in 2022 and funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for five years and $1 billion.

Washington state groups were promised more than $20 million that has not been released, according to George Geissler, the Washington Department of Natural Resources State Forester.

On the last day of 2025, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins signed a memo requiring partners to affirm that awards would not support climate change or fund DEI initiatives. The memo also required alignment with national security interests and standard practices for taxpayer dollars.

Geissler said the new terms contradict Washington state laws, so he cannot legally accept the funding. Twenty states and the District of Columbia sued the USDA on March 23 to block the conditions.

8, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued a memo directing federal agencies to apply a full suppression strategy to every wildfire on federal land. Prescribed fires require explicit approval after a certain point in the season and must be extinguished if not approved.

Forest Service Chief Schulz echoed the full suppression approach at an April 16 budget hearing. Last year the Forest Service burned only about half the acreage it did in 2024 and 2023.

Lieberg, a land manager for the Columbia Land Trust in southern Washington, said the group planned to burn 500 acres this spring but has not received any of a promised $9 million federal grant. The group cannot hire staff or complete planned burns without the funding.

Groups in Hawaii and Wisconsin have also not received promised funding. During the prior administration, Washington groups received more than $52 million from the Forest Service for burns on state, private, and nonprofit lands.