link to page 1 link to page 2 link to page 1 link to page 1 link to page 1 
Updated October 11, 2022
Forest Service: FY2023 Appropriations
The Forest Service (FS) is responsible for managing 193
Not including supplemental appropriations, this amount
million acres of land in the National Forest System (NFS);
would be an increase of $1.126 billion (14%) from FY2022
conducting forestry research; and providing assistance to
enacted appropriations. FS estimated $1.249 billion in
state, local, private, and international forest owners. FS is
mandatory appropriations and transfers for FY2023, the
an agency within the Department of Agriculture, but it
same amount as estimated for FY2022.
receives discretionary appropriations through the Interior,
Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.
Legislative Activity
On July 20, 2022, the House passed H.R. 8294, an omnibus
FS received $10.847 billion in total FY2022 discretionary
appropriations measure with $8.842 billion in funding for
appropriations (see Table 1 and Figure 1), reflecting
FS in Division E (see Table 1). On July 28, 2022, S. 4686
regular-enacted funding of $5.700 billion, $2.120 billion
was introduced, reflecting a Senate Appropriations
provided pursuant to the wildfire adjustment, and $3.026
Committee majority draft text with $8.596 billion for FS.
billion in emergency supplemental appropriations. Of the
Regular FY2023 appropriations were not enacted by the
total FY2022 emergency supplemental funding, P.L. 117-
start of the fiscal year, but a continuing resolution provides
43 provided $1.360 billion for disaster relief and the
funding at the FY2022 levels through December 16, 2022
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58,
(P.L. 117-180).
Division J, Title VI) provided $1.666 billion for ecosystem
restoration and wildfire risk reduction purposes. FS also
Supplemental Appropriations
received another $5.0 billion in mandatory appropriations
The IIJA provided FS with $5.447 billion in emergency-
through P.L. 117-169, popularly known as the Inflation
designated supplemental appropriations in total from
Reduction Act. For more information, see CRS In Focus
FY2022 through FY2026. For FY2023 and each fiscal year
IF11974, Forest Service: FY2022 Appropriations.
thereafter, IIJA provided for $945.2 million in supplemental
appropriations (see Table 1). The FY2023 spending plan
FY2023 Appropriations
for these funds is available as an appendix to FS’s FY2023
budget justification.
Budget Request
The Biden Administration requested $8.946 billion in total
FY2023 discretionary appropriations for FS (see Table 1).
Table 1. Forest Service (FS) Discretionary Appropriations, by Account ($ in millions)
FY2022
FY2023
H-Passed
S-Introduced
Suppl.
Account
Enacted
Request H.R. 8294
S. 4686
Enacted
Wildland Fire Management (WFM)
$2,005.1
$2,678.7
$2,678.7
$2,604.7
$36.0
Wildfire Adjustment
2,120.0
2,210.0
2,210.0
2,210.0
—
Total WFM and Wildfire Adjustment
4,125.1
4,888.7
4,888.7
4,814.7
36.0
National Forest System (NFS)
1,866.5
2,175.9
1,997.7
1,899.7
529.8
Forest Service Operations (FSO)
1,069.1
1,112.7
1,112.7
1,112.7
—
Forest and Rangeland Research (FRR)
296.6
317.8
360.4
302.8
2.0
State and Private Forestry (SPF)
315.2
307.0
332.6
323.2
305.4
Capital Improvement & Maintenance (CIM)
144.0
140.4
146.2
139.0
72.0
Other
3.7
3.7
3.7
3.7
—
Total, Without Wildfire Adjustment
5,700.3
6,736.00
6,631.8
6,385.8
945.2
Total, with Wildfire Adjustment
7,820.3
8,946.0
8,841.8
8,595.8
—
FY2022 Supplemental Funding
3,026.4
—
—
—
—
Source: CRS, with information from the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations and other budget documents.
Notes: FY2022 Supplemental Funding reflects appropriations provided in P.L. 117-43 and P.L. 117-58. FY2023 Suppl. Enacted reflects
appropriations provided in P.L. 117-58. Figures reflect rescissions, cancellations, and deferrals. Column totals may not add due to rounding.
https://crsreports.congress.gov
link to page 2 
Forest Service: FY2023 Appropriations
Forest Service Appropriation Accounts
trails, and other infrastructure needs across the NFS. It
FS has several discretionary appropriations accounts,
includes funding to address a backlog of deferred
discussed below in order of decreasing requested funding.
maintenance (DM). Starting in FY2021, FS receives
additional funding to address DM through mandatory
Wildland Fire Management
transfers from the National Parks and Public Land Legacy
The largest share of FS appropriations generally goes to the
Restoration Fund.
Wildland Fire Management (WFM) account. In addition to
salaries and expenses, the WFM appropriation funds two
Other
programs: preparedness and suppression. Appropriations
“Other” includes several smaller appropriations accounts
for preparedness are used to support efforts that assist with
for the Range Betterment Fund; gifts, donations, and
fire prevention and detection, equipment, and training.
bequests for research; management of national forest lands
Appropriations for suppression are used primarily for
for subsistence uses; and administration of communication
wildfire response, which includes aviation asset operations,
site authorizations. This category also includes funding to
incident support functions, and resources for postfire
complete land acquisitions and exchanges as authorized by
analysis and recovery.
specified laws, referred to as special acts.
Wildfire Adjustment/Wildfire Funding Fix
Issues for Congress
Starting in FY2020, additional funds for suppression
For FY2023, issues for Congress include determining the
operations are available to FS (and the Department of the
amount of funding to provide FS accounts and activities
Interior) pursuant to the wildfire adjustment, a budgetary
and the terms and conditions of such funding, as well as
mechanism established in P.L. 115-141 (Division O,
whether to enact related Biden Administration proposals.
§102(a)), commonly referred to as the wildfire funding fix.
Total Funding
This mechanism allows Congress to provide additional
FS’s discretionary funding fluctuates annually but increased
funding above a specified baseline for wildfire suppression
substantially in FY2022 to its highest level to date, in part
through an adjustment to the limit on total discretionary
due to supplemental appropriations provided through IIJA
spending. The baseline is the 10-year suppression
(see Figure 1). This increased funding level may enable FS
obligation average, as reported in FY2015 ($1.011 billion
to pursue many agency objectives, such as increasing the
for FS). The maximum amount available pursuant to the
pace and scale of forest restoration activities. However, it
adjustment is $2.210 billion for FS in FY2023 and will
may take several years for FS to demonstrate whether the
increase annually as specified in statute. The wildfire
funding is resulting in any measurable outcomes. This is in
adjustment is available annually through FY2027.
part due to the slow pace of forest management activities
National Forest System
generally but also may be attributable to other factors.
The NFS account funds activities related to the
Figure 1. FS Discretionary Appropriations,
management of national forests and grasslands. These
FY1998-FY2022
activities include planning, recreation, grazing, timber
production, watershed protection, wildlife management, and
law enforcement, among others.
Forest Service Operations
The Forest Service Operations (FSO) account funds certain
fixed costs and administrative expenses related to facilities
maintenance and leasing, information technology, and other
agency-wide organizational services. This account was
established in FY2021.
Forest and Rangeland Research
Source: CRS.
The Forest and Rangeland Research (FRR) account funds
Notes: Figures are adjusted to constant FY2022 dollars using the
research and development efforts to provide scientific
Office of Management and Budget’s GDP Chained Price Index.
information and new technologies to support sustainable
forest and rangeland management. FRR funds the Forest
Budgetary Changes
Inventory and Analysis program, which is a continuous
FS’s budgetary structure has changed significantly since
census of U.S. forest resources.
FY2020, and these budgetary changes have altered how FS
funding is provided and reported. These changes may
State and Private Forestry
improve congressional oversight moving forward but may
The State and Private Forestry (SPF) account funds
make examining funding trends over time at the account or
programs that provide assistance to nonfederal forest
program level more challenging. For FY2023, FS requested
owners. Several of these programs are implemented through
additional changes, including moving funding for the
state forestry agencies.
Hazardous Fuels program from the NFS account back to the
WFM account. The House-passed and Senate-introduced
Capital Improvement and Maintenance
bills for FY2023 supported this change.
The Capital Improvement and Maintenance (CIM) account
funds FS efforts to provide and maintain facilities, roads,
Katie Hoover, Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
IF12141
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Forest Service: FY2023 Appropriations
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the
United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be
reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include
copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you
wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF12141 · VERSION 2 · UPDATED