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May 8, 2023
Funding for Wildfire Management: FY2024 Appropriations for
Forest Service and Department of the Interior
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service (FS)
Figure 1. FS and DOI Discretionary Wildfire
and the Department of the Interior (DOI) are responsible for
Appropriations, FY1994-FY2023
wildfire response and management across federal lands
within their respective jurisdictions. Both FS and DOI
generally receive discretionary appropriations for wildfire
management activities through annual Interior,
Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations laws.
Wildfire management funding for DOI is provided to the
department-level Office of Wildland Fire. Wildfire
management appropriations fluctuate annually but overall
have risen markedly since FY1994 (see Figure 1). For
more information, see CRS Report R46583, Federal
Wildfire Management: Ten-Year Funding Trends and
Issues (FY2011-FY2020).
Source: CRS analysis of appropriations acts, accompanying
explanatory statements, and departmental reporting.
For FY2023, FS and DOI received a combined $7.208
Notes: DOI = Department of the Interior; FS = Forest Service.
billion in discretionary appropriations (see Table 1). The
Figures are adjusted to constant dol ars using the Office of
combined total consists of $5.438 billion for FS and $1.770
Management and Budget’s GDP Chained Price Index.
billion for DOI. The FY2023 combined total reflects $4.468
billion in regular appropriations provided through the
Wildfire Accounts and Activities
Consolidated Appropriations Act, FY2023 (P.L. 117-328,
FS and DOI each have a WFM account. Within their
Division G), and $2.740 billion in emergency supplemental
respective WFM accounts, both agencies receive funding
appropriations provided through two laws: the
for wildland fire preparedness and suppression activities.
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58,
DOI also receives funding through its WFM account for
Division J) and the Disaster Relief Supplemental
fuel reduction and other wildfire activities (e.g., site
Appropriations, FY2023 (P.L. 117-328, Division N).
rehabilitation, assistance programs, research, facilities
For FY2024, issues for Congress include determining the
maintenance). FS also receives appropriations for fuel
amount of funding for wildfire accounts and activities and
reduction and other wildfire purposes, but most of this
the terms and conditions of such funding, including whether
funding has been provided through other appropriations
to enact related Biden Administration proposals.
accounts. Unlike DOI, FS has a separate budget line item in
its WFM account for salaries and expenses.
FY2024 Budget Request
Since FY2020, FS and DOI have received additional
The Biden Administration requested a total of $7.100
funding for suppression through the wildfire adjustment (2
billion in FY2024 discretionary appropriations for FS and
U.S.C. §901(b)(2)(F)), also known as the wildfire funding
DOI wildfire purposes (see Table 1). The request included
fix, a budgetary mechanism that allows for an upward
$4.297 billion in the agencies’ Wildland Fire Management
adjustment of the discretionary spending allocations to
(WFM) accounts and $2.650 billion pursuant to the wildfire
accommodate a specific amount of additional funding for
adjustment. One component of the combined total is $616.3
suppression. A precondition for using the adjustment is that
million requested for hazardous fuels reduction purposes.
Congress must appropriate a baseline amount of funding for
For FS, the Administration requested $5.424 billion in
suppression purposes. The baseline is equal to the 10-year
FY2024 discretionary appropriations for wildfire purposes.
suppression obligation average as reported in FY2015
This included $2.970 billion to FS’s WFM account, $2.300
($1.011 billion for FS; $383.7 million for DOI). For each of
billion pursuant to the wildfire adjustment, and $153.0
FY2020-FY2023, Congress appropriated the baseline
million to other FS accounts.
suppression funds to the agencies’ respective WFM
accounts and appropriated the funds provided through the
For DOI, the Administration requested $1.676 billion in
wildfire adjustment to a separate account for each agency,
FY2024 discretionary appropriations for wildfire purposes.
the Wildfire Suppression Operations Reserve Fund. The
This included $1.326 billion to DOI’s WFM account and
wildfire adjustment is available annually through FY2027,
$350.0 million pursuant to the wildfire adjustment.
and the maximum amount available under the adjustment
FY2024 Supplemental Appropriations
increases annually.
Through IIJA, FS and DOI are set to receive $670.0 million
combined for FY2024 for wildfire risk reduction purposes.
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Funding for Wildfire Management: FY2024 Appropriations for Forest Service and Department of the Interior
Table 1. FS and DOI Discretionary Wildfire Appropriations ($ in millions)
FY2023
FY2024
Account
Total Enacted
Request
Supplemental Enacted
FS, Total
$5,437.9
$5,423.6
407.4
WFM, Total
2,528.0
2,970.6
36.0
Salaries and Expenses
914.0
1,422.6
—
Preparedness
32.0
208.0
—
Suppression
1,546.0
1,011.0
—
Other/Unallocated
36.0
6.0
36.0
Hazardous Fuels
—
323.0
—
Wildfire Adjustment
2,210.0
2,300.0
—
NFS Hazardous Fuels
309.8
—
102.8
Other
390.1
153.0
268.6
DOI, Total
1,770.4
1,675.9
262.6
WFM, Total
1,430.4
1,325.9
262.6
Preparedness
469.4
592.5
42.3
Suppression
458.7
383.7
—
Fuels Management
403.4
293.3
156.4
Other/Unallocated
98.9
56.5
63.9
Wildfire Adjustment
340.0
350.0
—
Total, FS and DOI
7,208.2
7,099.5
670.0
Sources: CRS, with information from the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations and other budget documents.
Notes: FY2023 Total Enacted reflects regular and supplemental appropriations provided in P.L. 117-58 and P.L. 117-328. FY2024 Supplemental
Enacted reflects supplemental appropriations provided in P.L. 117-58. WFM = Wildland Fire Management; NFS = National Forest System.
Totals may not add due to rounding.
Preparedness
projects on nonfederal lands, or to otherwise accelerate and
Preparedness includes the range of tasks necessary to
incentivize fuel removal from federal lands. Fuel reduction
ensure readiness for wildfire response. Prior to FY2021,
activities are funded within DOI’s Fuels Management
both FS and DOI used preparedness funds to maintain and
activity (WFM account) and FS’s Hazardous Fuels activity
train baseline personnel; manage infrastructure, equipment,
(National Forest System account). For both FY2023 and
and resources (e.g., aviation assets, engines, communication
FY2024, FS requested to move the Hazardous Fuels
equipment); develop, maintain, and advance technological
activity to its WFM account for FY2023; P.L. 117-328 did
tools to enhance decisionmaking capacity; and prepare and
not adopt this proposed change for FY2023. FS and DOI
execute fire management plans, cooperative agreements,
also receive funding through other accounts and programs
and interagency coordination. Starting in FY2021, many of
that may be used for fuel reduction; thus, funding provided
these activities for FS are covered in the salaries and
to each agency’s respective Fuels program does not reflect
expenses WFM budget line item.
the total funding available for these activities.
Suppression
Other Wildfire Activities
Suppression is the work associated with extinguishing or
FS and DOI receive appropriations for several other
confining a fire. Suppression appropriations are used
wildfire-related activities. For DOI, funding is provided
primarily for wildfire response, including funding aviation
within the WFM account for postfire rehabilitation, wildfire
asset operations, conducting other support functions in
science and research, and facilities maintenance. For FS,
direct support of wildfire incidents, and funding postfire
funding for other wildfire activities is provided as budget
emergency stabilization activities. In FY2023, some
line items to other accounts for wildfire assistance
suppression funding was allocated for presuppression
programs, wildfire science and research, burned area
activities. Baseline suppression funding is provided to FS’s
recovery, and postfire restoration activities. In previous
and DOI’s respective WFM accounts, and funds provided
years, some of these activities did not receive line item
pursuant to the wildfire adjustment are transferred to the
appropriations and were funded through allocations and
WFM account as needed.
other indirect sources. For FY2024, FS requested $6.0
Fuel Reduction
million to its WFM account for funding a DOD satellite
wildfire detection program.
Fuel reduction is manipulating or removing wildland fuels
(e.g., vegetation) to reduce potential wildfire risk. Federal
Katie Hoover, Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
fuel reduction funding may be used for projects (or
treatments) on federal lands, to provide assistance for
IF12398
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Funding for Wildfire Management: FY2024 Appropriations for Forest Service and Department of the Interior
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