By Hannah Grover
U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, a New Mexico Democrat, warned that the U.S. Forest Service is not prepared for the upcoming fire season due to recent layoffs and budget cuts.
Stansbury spoke Tuesday morning during a House Committee on Natural Resources Federal Lands Subcommittee meeting in Washington D.C. The subcommittee heard the proposed bipartisan Post-Disaster Reforestation and Restoration Act of 2025 — HR 528 — that would require the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior to identify priority lands for reforestation projects that would be conducted through contracts with third-party entities. U.S. Reps. Brittany Pettersen, D-Colorado, and Chuck Edwards, R-North Carolina, sponsored the legislation.
While HR 528 would address the aftermath of wildfires, Democrats on the subcommittee, including Stansbury, argued that not enough resources are available to address fire risks and protect communities when fires ignite.
Stansbury said cuts at the federal level have left New Mexico communities at risk amid drought and extreme fire risks.
She said during town halls she has heard from people who are, or were, employed by the U.S. Forest Service who have concerns about how the federal budget cuts will impact the ability to fight wildfires.
“Literally, thousands of Forest Service workers don’t know if they’re going to have their jobs tomorrow,” she said.
Even as the Forest Service has undergone layoffs, New Mexico is facing dry conditions related to climate change.
“In New Mexico, we’ve had the lowest snowpack in recorded history this winter,” Stansbury said. “And we are about to face a catastrophic fire season. We need our Forest Service workers out on the ground doing the work.”
Stansbury was not alone in those concerns. U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colorado, expressed similar sentiments.
Neguse specifically pointed to federal employees with “red cards” who were laid off. The red cards, or incident qualification cards, are an interagency certification that shows a worker has the minimum training, physical fitness standards and experience to respond to a wildland fire.
Many of the workers who were fired from the U.S. Forest Service held red card certifications, even if they did not primarily work as firefighters.
Forest Service Associate Deputy Chief Ellen Shultzabarger said her agency is prepared for this year’s wildfire season.
“We have a long history of preparing for disaster and events like the wildfire season,” she said.
She said the Forest Service is in the process of determining if any of the employees that accepted early retirement or the deferred resignation were part of the firefighting operations.
“We’re looking at where we have any gaps and making sure to fill any of those,” she said.
Schultzabarger said the agency is continuing to hire to reach the goal of 11,300 operational firefighters.
“We feel that we’ll be ready for the fire season,” she said.
However, Stansbury disagreed with Schultzabarger’s assessment.
“We are not prepared for this fire season and it will fall on this administration for failing to uphold its responsibilities both legally and morally to our communities as we face this fire season,” she said.
Firefighters are currently battling a small wildfire east of Socorro.
Thank you Rep Stansbury for standing up strong. Keep speaking aloud!
Stansbury is about pushing fear !
If you want to know what a dog-whistle to arsonists looks like, there you go.
How can we not be prepared? What was Deb Haaland doing the last 4 years as Sec of Interior? Victims of the last wildfire in Hermits Peak haven’t even been able to rebuild due to paper work and red tape from both Fed and State. States should just get the work done for its residents and take the responsibility of cleaning up the necessary fire hazards in occupied forest areas. Even the Rio Grande Bosque could use clean up, its hasn’t been taken care of in years.