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Updated June 3, 2022
Forest Service: FY2022 Appropriations
The Forest Service (FS) is responsible for managing 193
FY2022 Enacted Appropriations
million acres of land in the National Forest System (NFS);
Congress appropriated $10.847 billion in total FY2022
conducting forestry research; and providing assistance to
discretionary appropriations for FS (see Table 1), reflecting
state, local, private, and international forest owners. FS is
regular enacted funding of $5.700 billion, $2.120 billion
an agency within the Department of Agriculture, but it
provided pursuant to the wildfire adjustment, and $3.026
receives discretionary appropriations through the Interior,
billion in emergency supplemental appropriations.
Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.
Combined, the regular enacted funding and the wildfire
FY2022 Appropriations
adjustment total $7.820 billion, which reflects an increase
of $396.4 million from FY2021 appropriations. The regular
Budget Request
enacted funding and wildfire adjustment were provided in
The Biden Administration requested $8.405 billion in total
P.L. 117-103 (Division G).
FY2022 discretionary appropriations for FS (Table 1).
The supplemental appropriations were provided in two laws
FS also estimated $1.249 billion in mandatory
enacted prior to P.L. 117-103 (see Table 2). P.L. 117-43
appropriations and transfers for FS for FY2022. These
provided $1.360 billion in supplemental funding to several
mandatory appropriations are derived from and used for
FS accounts for expenses related to wildfires, hurricanes,
various sources and purposes, including land acquisition
and other natural disasters in previous years. The
funding under the Land and Water Conservation Fund
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58)
(LWCF; 54 U.S.C. §§200301 et seq.). LWCF funding was
provided $1.666 billion in FY2022 supplemental funding to
discretionary through FY2020 but was made mandatory
several FS accounts for ecosystem restoration and wildfire
beginning in FY2021 in the Great American Outdoors Act
risk reduction purposes. the law also contained emergency
(GAOA; P.L. 116-152; see CRS In Focus IF11636, The
advance appropriations for FS for FY2023-FY2026.
Great American Outdoors Act (P.L. 116-152)). For
FY2022, $218.2 million in mandatory funding from LWCF
In earlier action, the House-passed H.R. 4502 would have
was provided to FS. GAOA also authorized a mandatory
provided $8.355 billion for FS. A Senate Appropriations
transfer from the National Parks and Public Land Legacy
Committee majority bill (S. 3034) would have provided
Restoration Fund (LRF) to FS. For FY2022, $285.0 million
$8.354 billion for FS. Several continuing resolutions
in mandatory funding was transferred from the LRF to FS.
provided funding at the FY2021 levels before P.L. 117-103
was enacted on March 15, 2022.
Table 1. Forest Service (FS) Discretionary Appropriations, by Account ($ in millions)
FY2022
Enacted
FY2021
Account
Enacted
Request H.R. 4502
S. 3034
Suppl.
Reg.
Total
Wildland Fire Management (WFM)
$1,927.2
$2,097.6
$2,098.6
$2,097.6
$552.2
$2,005.1
$2,557.3
Wildfire Adjustment
2,040.0
2,120.0
2,120.0
2,120.0
—
2,120.0
2,120.0
Total, WFM and Wildfire Adjustment
3,967.2
4,217.6
4,218.6
4,217.6
552.2
4,125.1
4,677.3
National Forest System (NFS)
1,786.9
2,369.6
2,234.3
2,214.0
1,444.8
1,866.5
3,311.3
Forest Service Operations (FSO)
1,026.2
1,074.1
1,074.1
1,074.1
105.0
1,069.1
1,174.1
Capital Improvement & Maintenance (CIM)
125.4
133.4
135.3
185.9
542.0
144.0
686.0
State and Private Forestry (SPF)
261.4
298.8
324.9
344.2
355.4
315.2
670.6
Forest and Rangeland Research (FRR)
258.8
313.6
363.8
315.0
27.0
296.6
323.6
Other
3.7
3.7
3.7
3.7
—
3.7
3.7
Land Acquisition (LA)
-5.6
-5.6
—
—
—
—
—
Total, without Wildfire Adjustment
5,383.8
6,285.1
6,234.7
6,234.5
3,026.4
5,700.3
8,726.6
Total, with Wildfire Adjustment
7,423.8
8,405.1
8,354.7
8,354.5
—
7,820.3
10,846.6
Sources: CRS, with information from the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, P.L. 117-43, P.L. 117-58, and P.L. 117-103.
https://crsreports.congress.gov
link to page 2 Forest Service: FY2022 Appropriations
Notes: Reg. reflects appropriations provided in P.L. 117-103. Suppl. reflects supplemental appropriations provided in P.L. 117-43 and P.L. 117-
58; see Table 2 for more information. Figures reflect rescissions, cancellations, and deferrals. Column totals may not add due to rounding.
Table 2. Forest Service FY2022 Supplemental
organizational services. Prior to FY2021, many of these
Appropriations, by Account ($ in millions)
activities were funded through FS’s practice of using cost
pools from other accounts.
Account
P.L. 117-43
P.L. 117-58
Capital Improvement and Maintenance
FSO
$105.0
—
The Capital Improvement and Maintenance (CIM) account
FRR
25.0
2.0
funds FS efforts to provide and maintain facilities, roads,
SPF
50.0
305.4
trails, and other infrastructure needs across the NFS. It
includes funding to address a backlog of deferred
NFS
710.0
734.8
maintenance (DM). Starting in FY2021, FS received
additional funding to address DM through mandatory
CIM
470.0
72.0
transfers from the LRF. P.L. 117-103 and the
WFM
—
552.2
accompanying explanatory statement (ES) provided for a
mandatory transfer from the fund of $285.0 million for FS
Total
1,360.0
1,666.4
DM for FY2022.
Sources: P.L. 117-43 (Division B) and P.L. 117-58 (Division J).
State and Private Forestry
Forest Service Appropriation Accounts
The State and Private Forestry (SPF) account funds
FS has several appropriations accounts, discussed below,
programs that provide assistance to nonfederal forest
generally in order of decreasing funding.
owners. In FY2020 and previous years, SPF included
funding for the Forest Legacy Program (FLP), a cost-share
Wildland Fire Management
grant program that received discretionary appropriations
The largest share of FS appropriations generally goes to the
from the LWCF. Because the GAOA made the LWCF
Wildland Fire Management (WFM) account. In addition to
mandatory spending, Congress did not include discretionary
salaries and expenses, the WFM appropriation funds two
funding for FLP in FY2022, but P.L. 117-103 and the
programs: preparedness and suppression. Appropriations
accompanying ES allocated $88.9 million in mandatory
for preparedness support efforts that assist with fire
funding from the LWCF for FLP.
prevention and detection, equipment, and training.
Appropriations for suppression are used primarily for
Forest and Rangeland Research
wildfire response, which includes aviation asset operations,
The Forest and Rangeland Research (FRR) account funds
incident support functions, and resources for post-fire
research and development efforts to provide scientific
analysis and recovery.
information and new technologies to support sustainable
forest and rangeland management. FRR funds the Forest
Wildfire Adjustment/Wildfire Funding Fix
Inventory and Analysis program, which is a continuous
Starting in FY2020, additional funds for suppression
census of forest resources throughout the United States.
operations are available to FS (and the Department of the
Interior) pursuant to the wildfire adjustment, a budgetary
Other
mechanism established in P.L. 115-141 (Division O,
“Other” includes several smaller appropriations accounts
§102(a)), commonly referred to as the wildfire funding fix.
for the Range Betterment Fund; gifts, donations, and
This mechanism allows Congress to provide additional
bequests for research; management of national forest lands
funding above a specified baseline for wildfire suppression
for subsistence uses; and administration of communication
through an adjustment to the limit on total discretionary
site authorizations. This category also includes funding to
spending. The baseline is the 10-year suppression
complete land acquisitions and exchanges as authorized by
obligation average, as reported in FY2015 ($1.011 billion
specified laws, referred to as special acts.
for FS). The maximum amount available pursuant to the
adjustment was $2.120 billion for FS in FY2022 and, under
Land Acquisition
the law, will increase annually. The wildfire adjustment is
Because the authority in the GAOA made funding for FS
available annually through FY2027.
land acquisition mandatory, Congress did not provide
discretionary funding for land acquisition in FY2022. P.L.
National Forest System
117-103 and the accompanying ES provided for an
The National Forest System (NFS) account funds activities
allocation of $129.3 million in mandatory funding from the
related to the management of national forests and
LWCF for FS land acquisition activities.
grasslands. These activities include planning, recreation,
grazing, timber production, watershed protection, wildlife
Budgetary Changes
management, and law enforcement, among other activities.
The FS’s budgetary structure has changed significantly over
the past two fiscal years. These changes may improve
Forest Service Operations
congressional oversight moving forward but may make
Established in FY2021, the Forest Service Operations
examining funding trends over time more challenging at the
(FSO) account funds certain fixed costs and administrative
account or program level.
expenses related to facilities maintenance and leasing,
information technology, and other agency-wide
Katie Hoover, Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Forest Service: FY2022 Appropriations
IF11974
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https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF11974 · VERSION 3 · UPDATED