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November 16, 2021
Forest Service: FY2022 Appropriations
The Forest Service (FS) is responsible for managing 193
Legislative Activity
million acres of land in the National Forest System (NFS);
On July 29, 2021, the House passed H.R. 4502, an omnibus
conducting forestry research; and providing assistance to
appropriations measure with funding in Division E for
state, local, private, and international forest owners. FS is
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies (see Table 1).
an agency within the Department of Agriculture, but it
H.R. 4502 would provide $8.355 billion for FS.
receives discretionary appropriations through the Interior,
Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.
On October 18, 2021, the Senate Appropriations Committee
released a majority draft bill (later introduced as S. 3034)
FY2022 Discretionary Appropriations
containing $8.354 for FS.
Budget Request
Regular FY2022 appropriations were not enacted by the
The Biden Administration requested $8.405 billion in total
start of the fiscal year, but a continuing resolution provided
FY2022 discretionary appropriations for FS (see Table 1).
funding at the FY2021 levels through December 3, 2021
This amount would be an increase of $981.3 million (13%)
(P.L. 117-43, Division A).
from FY2021 enacted appropriations (in P.L. 116-260). The
request reflected increases for most FS discretionary
Division B of P.L. 117-43 provided $1.36 billion in
accounts. FS’s budget justification also estimated
supplemental appropriations for FY2022 to several FS
$1.010 billion in mandatory appropriations and transfers for
accounts for expenses related to wildfires, hurricanes, and
FS for FY2022. These mandatory appropriations are
other natural disasters in previous years.
derived from and used for various sources and purposes,
including land acquisition funding under the Land and
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-
Water Conservation Fund (LWCF; 54 U.S.C. §200301).
58, Division J, Title VI) provided $1.67 billion in
The LWCF funding had been discretionary through
supplemental appropriations for FY2022 for several FS
FY2020 but was made mandatory beginning in FY2021 in
accounts. Table 1 reflects $3.026 billion in combined
the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA; P.L. 116-152).
supplemental appropriations for FY2022 as provided in
GAOA also authorized a mandatory transfer of funding to
P.L. 117-43 and IIJA; Table 2 provides detail on the
FS from the National Parks and Public Land Legacy
supplemental appropriations provided in each law.
Restoration Fund (LRF).
Table 1. Forest Service (FS) Discretionary Appropriations, by Account ($ in millions)
FY2021
FY2022
H. Passed
S. Comm.
Enacted
Account
Enacted
Requested H.R. 4502
Maj. Draft
Suppl.
Forest Service Operations (FSO)
$1,026.2
$1,074.1
$1,074.1
$1,074.1
$105.0
Forest and Rangeland Research (FRR)
258.8
313.6
363.8
315.0
27.0
State and Private Forestry (SPF)
261.4
298.8
324.9
344.2
355.4
National Forest System (NFS)
1,786.9
2,369.6
2,234.3
2,214.0
1,444.8
Capital Improvement & Maintenance (CIM)
125.4
133.4
135.3
185.9
542.0
Wildland Fire Management (WFM)
1,927.2
2,097.6
2,098.6
2,097.6
552.2
Wildfire Adjustment
2,040.0
2,120.0
2,120.0
2,120.0
—
Total WFM
3,967.2
4,217.6
4,218.6
4,217.6
552.2
Other
3.7
3.7
3.7
3.7
—
Land Acquisition (LA)
-5.6
-5.6
—
—
—
Total, Without Wildfire Adjustment
5,383.8
6,285.1
6,234.7
6,234.5
3,026.4
Total, with Wildfire Adjustment
7,423.8
8,405.1
8,354.7
8,354.5
—
Sources: CRS, with information from the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, P.L. 117-43, and P.L. 117-58.
https://crsreports.congress.gov
link to page 2 Forest Service: FY2022 Appropriations
Notes: Figures reflect rescissions, cancellations, and deferrals. S. Comm. Maj. Draft refers to the majority draft bil (dated October 15, 2021)
and explanatory statement posted on the website of the Senate Committee on Appropriations. Enacted Suppl. reflects supplemental
appropriations provided in P.L. 117-43 and P.L. 117-58; see Table 2 for more information. Column totals may not add due to rounding.
Table 2. Forest Service FY2022 Supplemental
organizational services. Prior to FY2021, many of these
Appropriations, by Account ($ in millions)
activities were funded through FS’s practice of using cost
pools from the other accounts.
Account
P.L. 117-43
P.L. 117-58
State and Private Forestry
FSO
$105.0
—
The State and Private Forestry (SPF) account funds
FRR
25.0
2.0
programs that provide assistance to nonfederal forest
SPF
50.0
305.4
owners to protect forests from wildfires, insects, diseases,
and invasive plants. In FY2020 and previous years, SPF
NFS
710.0
734.8
included funding for the Forest Legacy Program (FLP), a
cost-share grant program that received discretionary
CIM
470.0
72.0
appropriations from the LWCF. Because the GAOA made
WFM
—
552.2
the LWCF mandatory spending, the Biden Administration
did not request discretionary funding for FLP in FY2022.
Total
1,360.0
1,666.4
Sources: P.L. 117-43 and P.L. 117-58.
Forest and Rangeland Research
The Forest and Rangeland Research (FRR) account funds
Forest Service Appropriation Accounts
research and development efforts to provide scientific
FS has several discretionary appropriations accounts,
information and new technologies to support sustainable
discussed below, generally in order of decreasing funding.
forest and rangeland management. FRR funds the Forest
Inventory and Analysis program, which is a continuous
Wildland Fire Management
census of forest resources throughout the United States.
The largest share of FS appropriations generally goes to the
Wildland Fire Management (WFM) account. In addition to
Capital Improvement and Maintenance
salaries and expenses, the WFM appropriation funds two
The Capital Improvement and Maintenance (CIM) account
programs: preparedness and suppression. Appropriations
funds FS efforts to provide and maintain facilities, roads,
for preparedness are used to support efforts that assist with
trails, and other infrastructure needs across the National
fire prevention and detection, equipment, and training.
Forest System. It includes funding to address a backlog of
Appropriations for suppression are used primarily for
deferred maintenance (DM). Starting in FY2021, FS
wildfire response, which includes aviation asset operations,
received additional funding to address DM through
incident support functions, and resources for post-fire
mandatory transfers from the LRF.
analysis and recovery.
Other
Wildfire Adjustment/Wildfire Funding Fix
“Other” includes several smaller appropriations accounts
Starting in FY2020, additional funds for suppression
for the Range Betterment Fund; gifts, donations, and
operations are available to FS (and the Department of the
bequests for research; management of national forest lands
Interior) pursuant to the wildfire adjustment, a budgetary
for subsistence uses; and administration of communication
mechanism established in P.L. 115-141 (Division O,
site authorizations. This category also includes funding to
§102(a)), commonly referred to as the wildfire funding fix.
complete land acquisitions and exchanges as authorized by
This mechanism allows Congress to provide additional
specified laws, referred to as special acts.
funding above a specified baseline for wildfire suppression
through an adjustment to the limit on total discretionary
Land Acquisition
spending. The baseline is the 10-year suppression
Because the authority in the GAOA made funding for FS
obligation average, as reported in FY2015 ($1.011 billion
land acquisition mandatory, Congress did not provide
for FS). The maximum amount available pursuant to the
discretionary funding for land acquisition in FY2021 and
adjustment is $2.120 billion for FS in FY2022 and will
rescinded funding from unobligated balances. The Biden
increase annually. The wildfire adjustment is available
Administration requested the rescission of additional land
annually through FY2027.
acquisition funding for FY2022.
National Forest System
Budgetary Changes
The National Forest System (NFS) account funds activities
FY2022 reflects the second year of the FS budgetary
related to the management of national forests and
restructuring established in the FY2021 appropriations law.
grasslands. These activities include planning, recreation,
The restructuring came in response to congressional
grazing, timber production, watershed, wildlife, and law
direction to improve FS accounting, budgeting, and
enforcement, among other activities.
management practices. FY2022 also reflects the second
year of GAOA mandatory funding. Together, these
Forest Service Operations
budgetary changes have altered how FS funding is provided
Established in FY2021, the Forest Service Operations
and reported.
(FSO) account funds certain fixed costs and administrative
expenses related to facilities maintenance and leasing,
Katie Hoover, Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
information technology, and other agency-wide
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Forest Service: FY2022 Appropriations
IF11974
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