U.S. Forest Service

The U.S. Forest Service is spending another $20 million to remove flammable underbrush and logs from forests to reduce wildfire risk. Some of the funding will be used to turn that chopped timber into firewood for Indigenous families in parts of the Mountain West to heat their homes.

The federal government spends, on average, more than $3 billion a year on fighting wildfires. A new report estimates how much those costs could increase in the future due to human-caused climate change.

The federal government recently proposed changes to the way it manages forestlands – a plan that would elevate conservation of old and mature forests facing increasing threats.

A new report says forests managed by tribal communities are extremely underfunded. And that’s affecting lands that tribes in the Mountain West and beyond rely on for economic, social and cultural resources.

The Biden administration is keeping the cost of grazing a cow and calf on federal land at $1.35 per month. Conservation groups say this low fee – the minimum it can be under federal law – comes at a high cost to Western lands and the climate.

Read news headlines for Friday, August 5, 2022.

The U.S. Forest Service recently announced a 10-year plan that includes a dramatic increase in treating forests through thinning and prescribed burns. That plan includes treating 20 million acres of Forest Service land, and 30 million acres of other federal, state, tribal, and private lands.

Wildfire activity generally slows at night as winds die down, temperatures drop and humidity rises. But a a new study suggests that's changing.

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