Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—the Ranking Member of the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee—delivered the following remarks as prepared for delivery at the hearing reviewing the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request for the U.S. Forest Service with Chief Tom Schultz:
Senator Merkley’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below:
“Thank you, Chief Schultz, for testifying today.
“The Forest Service manages 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands. But your job is so much more important than that.
“You have a responsibility to work with states and stakeholders to lead the research and develop the tools that improve the health of trees from the backcountry to the urban landscape, to meet the challenges of invasive pests, new disease, the urban heat dome, and wildfire.
“Sudden Oak Death, bark beetles, wildfire: They don’t respect jurisdictional lines. These are not local problems, they are national. And we need a national response.
“The Chief of the Forest Service is an appointed position, not a nomination to be confirmed by the Senate.
“Typically, this position has been filled by an individual who has served in the Forest Service or by someone who shares the agency’s motto of ‘Caring for the Land and Serving the People,’ which I believe you do.
“However, this administration is making it exceedingly difficult to achieve those worthy goals.
“There are individuals within this administration who want the American people to believe that our public lands are mismanaged to justify selling them off to the highest bidders.
“So, the administration has submitted a budget that proposes to decimate a dedicated workforce, slash established environmental standards, and protect the profits of oil and gas companies instead of protecting habitats and watersheds.
“This budget says:
“No funds to develop techniques to neutralize invasive species that threaten our forest.
“No funds to help federal officials, states, and private landowners partner together across a patchwork of jurisdictions to improve forest health.
“No funds for removing decades-old, unused logging roads that harm salmon runs, degrade watersheds, and cause landslides.
“And no more funds for supporting collaboration between environmentalists and timber companies to ensure that logging and fuels projects meet all of a community’s needs.
“These are just a few of many deep cuts in this budget.
“I’m particularly alarmed by the cuts to wildfire programs.
“This administration already froze funds with the threat of impoundment for wildfire fuels reduction and community wildfire defense grants.
“This administration terminated probationary employees with red cards or firefighting experience before scrambling to hire them back.
“And this administration forced voluntary separation on senior wildland fire staff, only to try to lure them back with financial incentives in time for fire season.
“I was briefed by federal, state, and local officials on the upcoming wildfire season in Oregon on May 30.
“They anticipate that this year will be hotter and drier than last year, when a record 1.9 million acres of Oregon burned.
“But instead of investing more in wildfire prevention and firefighting, this budget slashes investments.
“No funds for research on climate chaos to understand how to reduce wildfire risk.
“No funds to help volunteers and rural fire departments with training and equipment.
“Instead of slashing these programs, we should be investing in good science, good neighbor cooperation, and good management of our forests and watersheds.
“To reach these goals, one of the most effective programs we have is the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration program.
“It brings together public officials, environmental advocates, the timber industry, local stakeholders, and others to encourage effective forest management that reduces wildfire threats while delivering saw logs to local mills.
“We have five of these federal collaboratives in Oregon.
“I’ve introduced bipartisan legislation with Senators Wyden, Bennet, Crapo, Risch, and Daines to expand and reauthorize this program for another ten years.
“But this budget eliminates funding for this proven, bipartisan program.
“In fact, this budget makes me wonder: ‘What would you and the Forest Service do if it became law?’
“No innovative research, no meaningful collaboration with states or stakeholders, no real funding for forest management, no more staff in hundreds or thousands of key roles, and no more local firefighting investments.
“And the administration proposes to undermine the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the hallmark promise we have made to future generations to save natural places.
“This budget seems designed to undermine the Forest Service to justify selling off our public lands.
“Instead of selling America’s treasures to the rich and powerful, the American people deserve a Forest Service that ‘cares for the land and serves the people.’
“I look forward to discussing this budget further with you, Chief Schultz.”
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