Forest Service: FY2022 Appropriations

Forest Service: FY2022 Appropriations

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Updated September 26, 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
adjustment total $7.820 billion, which reflects an increase
FY2022 Appropriations
of $396.4 million from FY2021 appropriations. The regular
Budget Request
enacted funding and wildfire adjustment were provided in
P.L. 117-103 (Division G).
The Biden Administration requested $8.405 billion in total
FY2022 discretionary appropriations for FS (Table 1).
The FY2022 emergency supplemental appropriations were
FS also estimated $1.249 billion in mandatory
provided in two laws enacted prior to P.L. 117-103 (see
appropriations and transfers for FS for FY2022. These
Table 2). P.L. 117-43 (Division B) provided $1.360 billion
mandatory appropriations are derived from and used for
to several FS accounts for expenses related to wildfires,
various sources and purposes, including land acquisition
hurricanes, and other natural disasters in previous years.
funding under the Land and Water Conservation Fund
Division J of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
(LWCF; 54 U.S.C. §§200301 et seq.). LWCF funding was
(P.L. 117-58) provided $1.666 billion to several FS
discretionary through FY2020 but was made mandatory
accounts for ecosystem restoration and wildfire risk
beginning in FY2021 in the Great American Outdoors Act
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 addition, P.L. 117-169, often called the Inflation
was provided to FS. GAOA also authorized a mandatory
Reduction Act of 2022, provided $5.0 billion in FY2022
transfer from the National Parks and Public Land Legacy
funds to FS for specified purposes. Because these funds are
Restoration Fund (LRF) to FS. For FY2022, $285.0 million
considered mandatory appropriations, they are not included
in mandatory funding was transferred from the LRF to FS.
in the discretionary total reported above or the tables below.
Table 1. Forest Service (FS) Discretionary Appropriations, by Account ($ in millions)
FY2022
Enacted
FY2021
H-passed
S. Introduced
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
$2,557.3
Wildfire Adjustment
2,040.0
2,120.0
2,120.0
2,120.0
—
2,120.0
2,120.0
Total, WFM and Wildfire Adjustment
3,967.2
4,217.6
4,218.6
4,217.6
552.2
4,125.1
4,677.3
National Forest System (NFS)
1,786.9
2,369.6
2,234.3
2,214.0
1,444.8
1,866.5
3,311.3
Forest Service Operations (FSO)
1,026.2
1,074.1
1,074.1
1,074.1
105.0
1,069.1
1,174.1
Capital Improvement & Maintenance (CIM)
125.4
133.4
135.3
185.9
542.0
144.0
686.0
State and Private Forestry (SPF)
261.4
298.8
324.9
344.2
355.4
315.2
670.6
Forest and Rangeland Research (FRR)
258.8
313.6
363.8
315.0
27.0
296.6
323.6
Other
3.7
3.7
3.7
3.7
—
3.7
3.7
Land Acquisition (LA)
-5.6
-5.6
—
—
—
—
—
Total, without Wildfire Adjustment
5,383.8
6,285.1
6,234.7
6,234.5
3,026.4
5,700.3
8,726.6
Total, with Wildfire Adjustment
7,423.8
8,405.1
8,354.7
8,354.5
—
7,820.3
10,846.6
Sources: CRS, with information from the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, P.L. 117-43, P.L. 117-58, and P.L. 117-103.
Notes: Reg. reflects appropriations provided in P.L. 117-103. Suppl. reflects supplemental appropriations provided in P.L. 117-43 and P.L. 117-
58; see Table 2 for more information. Figures reflect rescissions, cancellations, and deferrals. Column totals may not add due to rounding.
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Forest Service: FY2022 Appropriations
Table 2. FS FY2022 Emergency Supplemental
activities were funded through FS’s practice of using cost
Appropriations, by Account ($ in millions)
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
funds FS efforts to provide and maintain facilities, roads,
FRR
25.0
2.0
trails, and other infrastructure needs across the NFS. It
includes funding to address a backlog of deferred
SPF
50.0
305.4
maintenance (DM). Starting in FY2021, FS received
NFS
710.0
734.8
additional funding to address DM through mandatory
transfers from the LRF. P.L. 117-103 and the
CIM
470.0
72.0
accompanying explanatory statement (ES) provided for a
WFM
—
552.2
mandatory transfer from the fund of $285.0 million for FS
DM for FY2022.
Total
1,360.0
1,666.4
Sources: P.L. 117-43 (Division B) and P.L. 117-58 (Division J).
State and Private Forestry
The State and Private Forestry (SPF) account funds
Forest Service Appropriation Accounts
programs that provide assistance to nonfederal forest
FS has several discretionary appropriations accounts,
owners. In FY2020 and previous years, SPF included
discussed below, generally in order of decreasing funding.
funding for the Forest Legacy Program (FLP), a cost-share
grant program that received discretionary appropriations
Wildland Fire Management
from the LWCF. Because the GAOA made the LWCF
The largest share of FS appropriations generally goes to the
mandatory spending, Congress did not include discretionary
Wildland Fire Management (WFM) account. In addition to
funding for FLP in FY2022, but P.L. 117-103 and the
salaries and expenses, the WFM appropriation funds two
accompanying ES allocated $88.9 million in mandatory
programs: preparedness and suppression. Appropriations
funding from the LWCF for FLP.
for preparedness support efforts that assist with fire
prevention and detection, equipment, and training.
Forest and Rangeland Research
Appropriations for suppression are used primarily for
The Forest and Rangeland Research (FRR) account funds
wildfire response, which includes aviation asset operations,
research and development efforts to provide scientific
incident support functions, and resources for post-fire
information and new technologies to support sustainable
analysis and recovery.
forest and rangeland management. FRR funds the Forest
Inventory and Analysis program, which is a continuous
Wildfire Adjustment/Wildfire Funding Fix
census of forest resources throughout the United States.
Starting in FY2020, additional funds for suppression
operations are available to FS (and the Department of the
Other
Interior) pursuant to the wildfire adjustment, a budgetary
“Other” includes several smaller appropriations accounts
mechanism established in P.L. 115-141 (Division O,
for the Range Betterment Fund; gifts, donations, and
§102(a)), commonly referred to as the wildfire funding fix.
bequests for research; management of national forest lands
This mechanism allows Congress to provide additional
for subsistence uses; and administration of communication
funding above a specified baseline for wildfire suppression
site authorizations. This category also includes funding to
through an adjustment to the limit on total discretionary
complete land acquisitions and exchanges as authorized by
spending. The baseline is the 10-year suppression
specified laws, referred to as special acts.
obligation average, as reported in FY2015 ($1.011 billion
for FS). The maximum amount available pursuant to the
Land Acquisition
adjustment was $2.120 billion for FS in FY2022 and, under
Because the authority in the GAOA made funding for FS
the law, will increase annually. The wildfire adjustment is
land acquisition mandatory, Congress did not provide
available annually through FY2027.
discretionary funding for land acquisition in FY2022
(except under special acts, as noted above). P.L. 117-103
National Forest System
and the accompanying ES provided for an allocation of
The National Forest System (NFS) account funds activities
$129.3 million in mandatory funding from the LWCF for
related to the management of national forests and
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
organizational services. Prior to FY2021, many of these
IF11974
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Forest Service: FY2022 Appropriations

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https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF11974 · VERSION 4 · UPDATED