Forest Service reverses course and provides federal wildfire fighters with masks

Masks are still not allowed while wildland firefighters
do strenuous fire suppression work. (Adobe Stock photo) 

In a 180-degree turn from tradition, the Forest Service will provide wildfire fighters with personal protective equipment to guard them from toxic gases and particles found in wildfire blazes.

The change reverses a "decades-long ban that exposed workers to toxins known to cause cancer and other serious diseases," reports Hannah Dreier of The New York Times. "They were only allowed to wear bandannas, which offer no protection against toxins."

New Forest Service guidance encourages wildfire firefighters to "mask up and even suggests that they shave their facial hair for a better fit," Dreier writes. The change is the first time the Forest Service has admitted "that masks can protect firefighters against harmful particles in wildfire smoke."

The Forest Service's new stance developed following "a series of articles in The New York Times that documented a growing occupational health crisis among wildfire crews," Dreier explains. Following the Times reporting, the Forest Service, which "employs the largest share of the country’s 40,000 wildland firefighters, has come under intense scrutiny by Congress."

To that end, Forest Service chief Tom Schultz was grilled by members of the Federal Lands subcommittee "about what he was doing to protect firefighters," Dreier writes. Schultz told committee members, "We need to continue to focus on safety as we move forward, including this issue.”

Despite the new guidance, wildland firefighters are allowed to wear masks only for less laborious duties. Deier reports, "They remain banned during arduous work, like digging trenches to contain wildfires, because the Forest Service says they may cause overheating."

Wildland firefighters work in toxin-filled environment with nothing 'to prevent them from inhaling its poisons'

Wildland firefighters aren't allowed to wear masks.
(Photo by Chris Boyer, Unsplash)

Hiking with heavy equipment, digging trenches and wrestling water hoses are part of the job that wildfire firefighters signed up to do. But what they didn't sign up for is breathing in toxic fumes that could someday lead to multiple illnesses, diseases and possibly an early death.

While urban and metro firefighters won't consider entering a fire site without wearing a mask, thousands of federal firefighters "spend weeks working in toxic smoke and ash wearing only a cloth bandanna, or nothing at all," reports Hannah Dreier of The New York Times. Firefighters often work extreme hours during fire season, with some even working in fire toxins year-round. The result is many extremely ill men and women.

"Some have become permanently disabled after breathing in concentrated plumes of ash, fungus or poison oak," Dreier writes. "They are getting cancer in their 20s, developing heart disease in their 30s, waiting for lung transplants in their 40s."

Forest Service researchers have "warned for years about the effects of smoke," Dreier explains. "But year after year, the Forest Service sends crews into smoke with nothing to prevent them from inhaling its poisons."

The USFS hasn't just resisted providing its fire crews with face masks; it forbids their use. USFS has said facial respirators are "impractical" and could cause firefighters to develop heatstroke. Dreier writes, "But internal records, studies and interviews with current and former agency officials reveal another motivation: Embracing masks would mean admitting how dangerous wildfire smoke really is."

If the agency admitted how many physical threats are present during a blaze, it would "lead to a cascade of expensive changes," Dreier adds. "Recruitment for the grueling, low-paying jobs could become harder. Spending could increase on an extensive range of health issues. . . . "

The U.S. Labor Department has been working to establish rules that require federal firefighters to have masks, but has faced pushback from the Forest Service and the Trump administration.

Funding system for rural schools that overlap with national forests is 'brutal.' Advocates seek a new solution.

Trinity Alps office building in Weaverville, California, pop. 3,667.
(Trinity Alps Unified School District photo via The Daily Yonder)

A lack of support for the 20-year-old Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act program has rural schools in 41 states preparing for a possible loss of vital funding. Leaders of those rural schools are advocating for a renewal of funding and a better plan for more secure funding in the future. 

"The law was up for re-authorization in 2024 but died last December without a vote from the House of Representatives," report Claire Carlson and Lane Wendell Fischer of The Daily Yonder. "The Senate had already voted unanimously to approve it."

The federal program provides money to counties that include National Forest land. "Because public land cannot be used or taxed for local interests, the SRS program offsets this loss of local revenue by allocating federal funds to support essential community infrastructure like roads and schools," Carlson and Fischer explain. "SRS requires regular re-authorization, typically every three years, and is often accompanied by reductions in funding."

In 2016, SRS funding wasn't approved in time, and schools missed a year of needed funding. The same thing may happen in 2025. Jamie Green, superintendent of Trinity Alps Unified School District in rural Trinity County, California, told the Yonder, “This every three-year thing, it’s brutal. Absolutely brutal.”

In 2023, Trinity Alps was allotted $600,000 from SRS. "These funds accounted for 5% of the district’s budget and were essential in paying for teachers, programming, and maintenance work," the Yonder reports. "With no clear path toward re-authorization, Green’s current goal is to do what he can to cushion Trinity Alps for the looming shortfall."

With the ongoing potential for funding gaps or reductions within the program, advocates want a longer-term solution. Mark Haggerty, a senior fellow at the independent nonprofit research institute Center for American Progress, favors establishing a trust. He told the Yonder, "A trust makes sure that communities have the resources they need. . . . It’s not asking the taxpayers for permanent appropriations, and it’s not adding to the debt. But it gives counties and schools predictable payments that they can rely on."

To read about obstacles a trust faces, click here. 

Rural round-up: USDA plan to lower egg prices; cuts to rural education research; relief payments to farmers; USFS firings

Photo by J. Egger,
Unsplash

As egg prices keep pecking at American pocketbooks, Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has a 5-part plan to lower egg prices. Rollins writes, "Avian flu can still penetrate [almost any] facility; it is transmitted through wild birds that often enter through perimeter gaps that need to be fixed. . . . The USDA has developed a successful pilot program. . . to identify and implement more safety measures. . . . Second, we will make up to $400 million of increased financial relief available to farmers whose flocks are affected by avian flu, and we will assist them in receiving faster approval to begin safe operations again after an outbreak. . . ." Read all of Secretary Rollins' strategy here.

President Donald Trump's first campaign and term may have helped bring rural needs for investment and support to the forefront, but the current Trump administration "could bring that progress to a sudden halt," reports Nick Fouriezos for The Daily Yonder. "The first cuts were reportedly aimed at the Institute of Education Sciences, the Department of Education's independent research and evaluation arm, with at least 170 contracts shuttered. . . . The National Rural Higher Education Research Center just opened in September, after being awarded a 5-year, $10 million grant through the IES. . . . Led by MDRC, which conducts nonpartisan research to improve the lives of low-income Americans, the center is conducting eight major studies in rural areas across 10 states and 25 colleges."

Outdoor Recreation Roundtable photo

The wave of U.S. Forestry terminations put a precious rural resources at risk. "About 3,400 U.S. Forest Service employees within their probationary period have been fired due to Trump’s reforming the federal workforce executive order," reports Ilana Newman of The Daily Yonder. "National forests are vital to rural economies. The outdoor recreation industry contributed 1.2 trillion dollars to the American economy in 2023. . . . A source revealed that seasonal firefighters may be in the next round of terminations."

Sections of Appalachia were doused with rain last week, leaving parts of Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee soaked and flooding -- again. The region's repeated natural disasters have caused heartbreak and extreme financial distress for many residents, but they have also helped Appalachian communities rely on one another. "Willa Johnson, a lifelong eastern Kentuckian, lived in McRoberts when the 2022 flood overturned her life," reports Katie Myers of Grist. "Johnson and others throughout the area feel their experience has prepared them to face future disasters with strength, and, when other rural communities go through the same experience, understand what they face and how best to help them."

In late December, Congress passed the American Relief Act, which earmarked $9.8 billion in agriculture relief payments to farmers, with a 90-day window for the Department of Agriculture to issue the checks, reports Tyne Morgan of Farm Journal. "With less than 30 days left before the deadline, farmers are asking one question: When will those payments be released? . . . .  On Thursday Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins confirmed payments will be released before the March 21 current deadline. She also outlined the timing of the $1 billion just announced to combat avian flu. Rollins is schedule to give another keynote talk today. To watch Farm Journal's most recent update interview with Rollins, click here.

Rash of federal firings will hurt rural communities' economic health and development possibilities

Map by Sarah Melotte, The Daily Yonder, from Bureau of Labor Statistics data

The Trump administration's federal employee purge has plunged several sectors into chaos and disarray. Some firings include rural workers employed by public land agencies. "In a radical move to stave off perceived bureaucratic bloat, the administration has laid off thousands of federal employees," reports Sarah Melotte of The Daily Yonder. "Over a quarter million federal employees are stationed in rural counties across the country."

By cutting federal payrolls, the Trump administration hopes to fund part of its "proposed $4.5 trillion in tax cuts," Melotte explains. "The firings will hurt many rural communities that rely on the federal government for a large share of their economic base."

The loss of government jobs is particularly harmful to rural communities because federal positions generally pay better and will be more difficult for individuals to replace. Melotte reports, "In 2023, wages in rural private sector jobs were $50,600 per job, on average, compared to $79,300 per job in the federal government. . . . Federal jobs only make up 1.6% of the total rural workforce, but in many rural communities, they are one of the largest employers.

Explaining the domino effect federal firings could have on rural communities, Megan Lawson, from Headwaters Economics, told Melotte, "Especially in the West, where many federal layoffs are affecting public land agencies, these employees will not be able to manage our natural resources and serve the public. Our gateway communities whose economies depend on natural resources or recreation on federal land will feel the ripple effects when the resources and their visitors aren't being managed well. It's unclear how quickly these effects will be felt."

Nationwide, the tally of federal wages paid to rural employees is substantial. "Federal wages accounted for $21 billion in non-metropolitan, or rural, counties in 2023," Melotte adds. So far, the Trump administration fired more than 1,000 Department of Veteran Affairs employees and cut 3,400 Forest Service jobs.

Big trees are a big deal. Preservation of old-growth trees is becoming a contentious battle nationwide.

The largest trees often grow together in a 'stand.'
(Photo by Steve Ringman, The Seattle Times)

Trees don't seem controversial, but they are. "The fight over the future of the last old and mature forests in America intensified Tuesday when the Biden administration called for preservation of old-growth trees," reports  Lynda V. Mapes of The Seattle Times. "The administration, after creating an inventory of the nation's old growth, wants to amend 128 forest land-management plans to conserve and steward 25 million acres of old-growth forests and 68 million acres of mature forest across the national forest system."

"For the Pacific Northwest — home to much of the nation's remaining old forests — an effort is already underway to overhaul and update key old-growth protections in the Northwest Forest Plan of 1994, one of the world's most ambitious conservation plans," Mapes writes. "But the nationwide attention from the federal government is adding to the debate over old forests' cultural and ecological significance and their ability to suck up carbon from the atmosphere that is warming the planet."

Not everyone agrees the new initiative is needed. The American Forest Resource Council, a trade group, "panned the old-growth initiative as unnecessary and burdensome," Mapes explains. Council President Travis Joseph issued a statement, saying, "Existing federal environmental laws and forest plans provide direction on managing and protecting old growth. Yet the agency is now being directed to embark on a new, massive bureaucratic process — during a wildfire and forest health crisis — that will likely make forest management more complex, costly, and contentious."

Big trees are a big deal. "They are the most important helpers in absorbing carbon because while they are slower growing than young trees, their greater mass locks away more carbon," Mapes reports. "Recent research shows large trees dominate carbon storage in the Pacific Northwest. Old and mature natural forests also provide a haven for biodiversity and human well-being."

As part of the Northwest Forest Plan overhaul, a 21-member committee "began work last September on updates to reflect changed conditions and new science." The U.S. Forest Service has announced its intent to prepare an environmental impact statement, expected in June, on the Northwest Forest Plan amendment, with a 90-day public comment period to begin at that time. 

Land collaborations with Native American tribes gain momentum, but some say agreements don't go far enough

The Sanilac Petroglyphs are in
Michigan's thumb. (Wikipedia map)

Land stewardship collaborations have increased between federal and state governments with Native American tribes who were removed from their ancestral lands, but some advocates say the pacts don't go far enough. "Known as co-management or co-stewardship, [the agreements] range from pledges to consult with tribes to full-fledged partnerships that give tribal leaders an equal seat on governing commissions," reports Alex Brown of Stateline. "While praising such efforts generally, Native leaders say the agreements have been a mixed bag in terms of granting real authority to tribes."

In 2019, the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe forged a successful collaboration agreement with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to co-manage the Sanilac Petroglyphs Historic State Park, which is home to the largest collection of petroglyphs in Michigan, Brown reports. "The partnership has helped state managers better understand the petroglyphs' meanings. . . . They're now collaborating to build a ceremonial teaching lodge." Sandra Clark, director of the Michigan History Center, told Brown: "We basically make all decisions together now. The more we learn about our partners, their culture and beliefs, the more that gets filtered into how we talk about this."

McLoyd Canyon is part of Bears Ears National Monument,
in Utah. (Photo by Rick Bowmer, AP via Stateline)

"The collaboration in Michigan is part of a growing movement to restore tribes' role in managing the lands and waters within their ancestral territories. Proponents note that many of America's most cherished public lands were established only after the displacement of the Indigenous people who called them home," Brown explains. "Last year, federal land managers signed an agreement with five tribes to co-manage Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. Those nations — the Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, and the Pueblo of Zuni — form a commission that works with the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to oversee the monument. . . . Advocates say the agreement was a landmark win for tribal management. . . . [But] some believe that stolen lands like national parks should be returned outright to their original stewards."

The current administration is pushing for more land managers to build co-management relationships with tribes. "In 2021, Cabinet leaders issued a secretarial order calling for their agencies to '[m]ake agreements with Indian Tribes to collaborate in the co-stewardship of Federal lands and waters.' Since then, officials have inked numerous agreements with tribal nations," Brown reports. "The partnerships include everything from wildfire prevention work such as forest thinning and prescribed fire to protection of burial sites, restoration of stream habitat, ceremonial activities and traditional food gathering." Kristi Tapio-Harper, regional tribal relations specialist in the Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Region, told Brown: "It's unprecedented. It's given the Forest Service something tangible to sit at the table and start learning from the tribes."

A housing-strapped county is creating a first-of-its-kind development on U.S. Forest Service land

Stunning views where new affordable housing units will be built.
(Photo by Hart Van Denburg, CPR News)

In the bustling hilltop town of Dillon in Summit County, Colorado, businesses face a steep labor shortage, but affordable housing must be available for potential hires. The area is about 86% forest, the Forest Service has its own land and an equipped post, but it doesn't have cash or build houses. When the two entities put their heads together, they forged a first-of-its-kind agreement.

"The agency is about to sign a lease to allow a developer to transform the hilltop property. The fire engine bay, the offices and the storage areas will all be rebuilt to modern standards. And just downslope will come the biggest change of all — an entire residential neighborhood of more than 150 units," reports Andrew Kenney of Colorado Public Radio. Anna Bengtson, land conveyance program manager for the national forest, described the plan to Kenney: "Multi-story buildings with housing units of one-, two- and three-bedroom configurations mixed in with some green space and a community center and public transit and a rec path coming through."

How was this made possible? An act of Congress. "The 2018 Farm Bill, to be precise," Kenney explains. "Federal lawmakers included a provision that authorized the Forest Service to lease out a strictly limited selection of its land for housing and other purposes. . . . Five years later, Dillon is set to be the first place it happens. . . . The project has millions of dollars of backing from the state and local governments, and it will be built by the private developer Servitas. Summit County will lease the land from the Forest Service for 50 years but will provide housing for USFS staffers instead of paying rent to the agency."

Garrett Scharton, an executive with Servitas, told Kenney, "Frankly, it's going to be beautiful, because the site is epic. Any other developer would absolutely put $5 million condos on this site. . . . Summit County and the Forest Service and Dillon have decided to give back to the local community for essentially locals-only housing." Kinney adds, "In some ways, the project is simpler than other developments. There's no need for a zoning hearing where local opponents might slow the project, since the U.S. Forest Service controls the land. And the agency does have experience building its own housing.

"The project is drawing national attention, a sign of how many other rural and resort communities are desperate for land for housing," Kinney reports. "So far, the Dillon project has been uncontroversial — perhaps because the site has already been developed to an extent. But some officials would like the Forest Service to open up a broader range of sites for housing. . . . Marcus Selig, chief conservation officer at the National Forest Foundation, said that the Forest Service should be — and will be — careful in choosing future properties."

Forest Service creates tools to give rural towns a better chance at wildfire resiliency grants; Oct. 31 next deadline

Smoke plume from Cal-Wood fire near Boulder, Colo.
(Photo by Malachi Brooks, Unsplash)

Rural communities looking to shore up financing wildfire prevention projects may have an improved chance of gaining grant dollars during the second application window of a federal grant program. The application period is open until Oct. 31, reports Claire Carlson of The Daily Yonder. Smaller communities often lack the capacity, such as additional staffing or grant expertise, to apply for and win grants despite their need for assistance.

Applying for a grant means communities must gather and supply data, which takes time smaller staff may not have. To combat this obstacle, the Forest Service has piloted the Community Wildfire Defense Grants Tool, which calculates the wildfire risk of every U.S. county. "The tool shows whether the county is considered low-income and has had any previous disasters, and if it’s ‘underserved’ as defined by the federally managed Climate & Economic Justice Screening Tool,” Carlson writes. Using the grant tool helps communities focus on getting and organizing data with few frustrations and fewer labor hours.

A second strategy deploys "'community navigators,' which are organizations that work directly with underserved communities to identify funding opportunities and help them through the grant application process," Carlson explains. "The navigators will also train community leaders to do this work on their own in the future." 

Grants requiring matching dollars from local coffers have kept poorer, more rural areas from accessing federal money, but waivers are an option. "Match waivers will be made available for communities that are underserved as defined by the Climate & Economic Justice Screening Tool or are nationally recognized tribes or Pacific Islands communities," Carlson adds. "The grant program is giving up to $250,000 to each community to develop wildfire protection plans and up to $10 million to each community to implement wildfire resiliency projects."

The CWDG calls for "community wildfire protection plans to focus on community-wide efforts to decrease wildfire risk, like improving emergency communications or identifying water sources," Carlson reports. "A comprehensive toolkit on how to create a community wildfire protection plan can be found here. For more information and access to the application, visit the Forest Service’s website."

Feds slow to find suitable housing for hundreds displaced by planned Forest Service burn that got out of control

The Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire was easily visible from space. (NASA photo)

After two runaway fires set by the U.S. Forest Service destroyed 430 homes in rural New Mexico a year ago, the federal government acted so slowly that only a few people have been able to move into temporary housing, leaving others to dig into their own meager savings or stay on friends’ couches, reports Patrick Lohmann of Source New Mexico in partnership with ProPublica.

The Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon fire "rode 74-mph wind gusts, engulfing dozens of homes in a single day as it tore through canyons and over mountains," Lohmann recounts. "The blaze became the biggest wildfire in the continental United States in 2022 and the biggest in New Mexico history. And it was the federal government’s fault: An ill-prepared and understaffed crew didn’t properly account for dry conditions and high winds when it ignited prescribed burns meant to limit the fuel for a potential wildfire."

The Federal Emergency Management Agency found temporary housing to 140 households, but "The federal government has acted so slowly and maintained such strict rules that only about a tenth of them have moved in," Lohmann reports. "EMA says most of the 140 households it deemed eligible for travel trailers or mobile homes — essentially, people whose uninsured primary residences sustained severe damage — have found 'another housing resource.' What the agency doesn’t say: For some, that resource is a vehicle, a tent or a rickety camper. It’s a friend or relative’s couch, sometimes far from home. It’s a mobile home paid for with retirement funds or meager savings."

Lohmann tells several stories of residents suffering from the lack of permanent housing, writing, "The fire upended a constellation of largely Hispanic, rural communities that have cultivated their land and culture in the shadows of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains for hundreds of years. Many residents can find their family names on land grants issued by Mexican governors in the 1830s. Now they’re dispersed across the region, even out of state."