Forest Service: FY2024 Appropriations

Forest Service: FY2024 Appropriations

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Updated June 10, 2024
Forest Service: FY2024 Appropriations
The Forest Service (FS) is responsible for managing 193
FY2024 Enacted Appropriations
million acres of land in the National Forest System (NFS),
Congress appropriated $9.32 billion in total FY2024
conducting forestry research, and providing assistance to
discretionary appropriations for the FS. This total reflects
state, local, private, and international forest owners. The FS
regular enacted funding of $6.07 billion, $2.30 billion
is an agency within the Department of Agriculture, but it
provided pursuant to a wildfire adjustment, and $945.2
receives discretionary appropriations through the Interior,
million in additional appropriations. (See Table 1 and
Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.
Figure 1.)
FY2024 Appropriations
Combined, the regular enacted funding and the wildfire
Budget Request
adjustment total $8.37 billion, which reflects an increase of
$1.30 billion from FY2023 appropriations. The $8.37
The Biden Administration requested $9.73 billion in total
billion in regular enacted funding and wildfire adjustment
FY2024 discretionary appropriations for the FS (see Table
were provided in P.L. 118-42, Division E.
1). This amount would have been an increase of $2.66
billion (38%) from FY2023 regular enacted appropriations.
Additional FS appropriations available for FY2024 were
provided in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
(IIJA; P.L. 117-58, Division J).
Table 1. Forest Service (FS) Discretionary Appropriations, by Account ($ in millions)
FY2024
FY2023
Enacted
Account
Regular
Supplemental
Total
Request Regular
Supplemental
Total
Wildland Fire Management
$946.0
$1,582.0
$2,528.0
$2,970.6
$2,312.7
$36.0
$2,348.7
(WFM)
Wildfire Adjustment
2,210.0
—
2,210.0
2,300,0
2,300.0
—
2,300.0
Total WFM and Wildfire
3,156.0
—
4,738.0
5,270.6
4,612.7
36.0
4,648.6
Adjustment
National Forest System
1,974.4
738.9
2,714.2
2,226.3
1,863.6
529.8
2,393.4
(NFS)
Forest Service Operations
1,152.7
—
1,152.7
1,316.5
1,150.0
—
1,150.0
(FSO)
State, Private, and Tribal
337.8
453.4
791.1
327.7
303.3
305.4
608.7
Forestry (SPTF)
Forest and Rangeland
307.3
4.0
311.3
349.1
300.0
2.0
302.0
Research (FRR)
Capital Improvement &
142.0
222.0
364.0
235.0
140.1
72.0
212.1
Maintenance (CIM)
Other
3.7
—
3.7
5.7
3.7
—
3.7
Total, Without Wildfire
4,863.8
3,001.2
7,865.0
7,430.8
6,073.3
945.2
7,018.5
Adjustment
Total, with Wildfire
7,073.8
3,001.2
10,075.0
9,730.8
8,373.3
—
9,318.5
Adjustment
Source: CRS, with information from the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations and other budget documents.
Notes: FY2024 supplemental funding reflects emergency appropriations provided in P.L. 117-58. FY2024 Regular Enacted reflects
appropriations provided in P.L. 118-42, Division E. FY2023 Regular Enacted reflects appropriations provided in P.L. 117-328, Division J. FY2023
Supplemental Enacted reflects appropriations provided in P.L. 117-58 and P.L. 117-328, Division N. Figures reflect rescissions, cancellations, and
deferrals. Values may not sum to totals due to rounding. Prior to FY2024, the SPTF account was referred to as State and Private Forestry
(SPF).
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Forest Service: FY2024 Appropriations

For FY2024 (and each fiscal year thereafter), the portion
owners. Many of these programs are implemented through
was $945.2 million in advance emergency appropriations.
state forestry agencies. Prior to FY2024, the account was
The FS also receives mandatory appropriations, calculated
referred to as State and Private Forestry (SPF).
by CRS using FS estimates to be $1.40 billion for FY2024
Forest and Rangeland Research
(including transfers). Mandatory appropriations include
land acquisition funding under the Land and Water
The Forest and Rangeland Research (FRR) account funds
Conservation Fund (LWCF; 54 U.S.C. §§200301 et seq.)
research and development efforts to provide scientific
and mandatory transfers from the National Parks and Public
information and new technologies to support sustainable
Land Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF). Mandatory
forest and rangeland management. FRR funds the Forest
appropriations also derive from certain timber-related
Inventory and Analysis program, which is a continuous
receipts, certain recreation revenues authorized under the
census of U.S. forest resources.
Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (P.L. 108-447,
Capital Improvement and Maintenance
Division J, as amended), and other sources.
The Capital Improvement and Maintenance (CIM) account
Regular FY2024 appropriations were not enacted by the
funds FS efforts to provide and maintain facilities, roads,
start of the fiscal year, but continuing resolutions provided
trails, and other infrastructure needs across the NFS. It
funding at the FY2023 levels until enactment of full-year
includes funding to address a backlog of deferred
appropriations on March 9, 2024.
maintenance (DM). The FS receives additional funding to
Forest Service Appropriation Accounts
address DM through mandatory transfers from the National
Parks and Public Land LRF.
Wildland Fire: Wildland Fire Management and the
Wildfire Adjustment
Other
“Other” includes several smaller appropriations accounts
The largest share of FS appropriations generally goes to the
Wildland Fire Management (WFM) account. In addition to
for the Range Betterment Fund; gifts, donations, and
salaries and expenses, the WFM appropriation funds two
bequests for research; and management of national forest
programs: preparedness and suppression. Appropriations
lands for subsistence uses. This category also includes
for preparedness are used to support efforts that assist with
funding to complete land acquisitions and exchanges as
fire prevention and detection, equipment, and training.
authorized by specified laws, referred to as special acts.
Appropriations for suppression are used primarily for
20 Years of Forest Service Funding
wildfire response, which includes aviation asset operations,
The FS’s discretionary funding fluctuates annually but
incident support functions, and resources for postfire
increased substantially in FY2022 to its highest level to
analysis and recovery.
date, in part due to supplemental appropriations provided
Starting in FY2020, additional funds for suppression
through the IIJA (see Figure 1). This increased funding
operations are available to the FS (and the Department of
level may enable the FS to pursue many agency objectives,
the Interior) pursuant to the wildfire adjustment, a
such as increasing the pace and scale of forest restoration
budgetary mechanism established in P.L. 115-141 (Division
activities. However, it may take several years for the
O, §102(a)). This mechanism allows Congress to provide
impacts of the additional funding—if any—to be
additional funding above a specified baseline ($1.011
measurable. This may be due to the slow pace of forest
billion for the FS) for wildfire suppression through an
management activities generally; the time needed to plan,
adjustment to the limit on total discretionary spending. The
prioritize, and deploy funding to projects across the NFS;
maximum amount available pursuant to the adjustment is
and other factors.
$2.30 billion for the FS in FY2024, which is to increase
annually as specified in statute. The wildfire adjustment is
Figure 1. FS Discretionary Appropriations,
available annually through FY2027.
FY2004-FY2024
National Forest System
The NFS account funds activities related to the
management of national forests and grasslands. These
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
Source: CRS analysis of appropriations acts, accompanying
agency-wide organizational services. This account was
explanatory statements, and departmental reporting.
established in FY2021.
Note: Figures are adjusted to constant FY2024 dollars using the
State, Private, and Tribal Forestry
Office of Management and Budget’s GDP Chained Price Index.
The State, Private, and Tribal Forestry (SPTF) account
funds programs that provide assistance to nonfederal forest
Anne A. Riddle, Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
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Forest Service: FY2024 Appropriations

IF12396

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