U.S. Forest Service cuts raise concerns on protecting public lands and fighting wildfires

U.S. Forest Service cuts raise concerns on protecting public lands and fighting wildfires

From PBS News Hour - Segments by PBS News

May 4, 2026 · 7 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the significant cuts and changes announced by the U.S. Forest Service and the potential implications for public land management and wildfire fighting efforts.

Sweeping changes are coming for the U.S. Forest Service, which manages roughly a third of America's public land. The agency announced a dramatic overhaul of cuts, closures and consolidation. That's on top of the Trump administration's latest budget request that seeks to slash billions of dollars. But some worry it could undermine the agency's mission. William Brangham reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

People in this episode

Host: William Brangham

Topics covered

  • U.S. Forest Service
  • public lands
  • wildfires
  • budget cuts
  • environmental policy

Keywords

  • U.S. Forest Service
  • public lands
  • wildfires
  • budget cuts
  • Trump administration

Sponsors

PBS News

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: U.S. Forest Service, Trump administration

Places: America

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