A growing funding crisis is preventing conservation and land management organizations across Oregon and Washington from carrying out planned prescribed burns this spring — just as fire officials warn that 2026 could be one of the most dangerous wildfire seasons in recent memory.
The root of the problem lies in a December 31, 2025 memo signed by U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins that changed the terms and conditions for all USDA grants and partnerships. The memo required recipients to affirm compliance with a range of "America First" initiatives — including restrictions tied to immigration policy, diversity hiring, and DEI programs — before any existing grant funds could be released. Groups that had already been awarded funding found themselves unable to access the money until they navigated the new compliance requirements.
Washington Groups Lose a Critical Spring Window
Adam Lieberg, a land manager for the Columbia Land Trust in southern Washington, was planning to burn 500 acres of forest ground fuel this spring using a U.S. Forest Service Community Wildfire Defense Grant of more than $9 million awarded last August. As of April, Lieberg had not received a single cent of the award.
"If we don't have both steady streams of state and federal funds for our forest health crisis, then the work doesn't get done," Lieberg told NPR. "The fires continue to get larger and more catastrophic."
The Forest Service has not released close to $20 million to other Washington state groups for burning and forest health projects, confirmed George Geissler, the Washington Department of Natural Resources State Forester. Geissler said that nearly every state is facing the same situation, regardless of political affiliation. "Almost every state is in this position," he said.
National Scope: $200 Million Delayed
The Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program had promised approximately $200 million to groups across 22 states and two Tribes for prescribed fire and fuels reduction work. Organizations in Hawaii, Wisconsin, and across the Pacific Northwest have all confirmed delayed or withheld funding. The programs were typically expected to receive money by early 2026 — in time for the best spring prescribed burning conditions — but those windows are now closing.
Pine Mountain: A Cautionary Tale Near Bend
The stakes of reduced prescribed burning capacity were on display in early May when a planned prescribed burn on Pine Mountain, approximately 14 miles southeast of Bend, jumped containment lines on May 8 and was declared a wildfire. The fire grew to approximately 2,866 acres before being 100 percent contained by May 12. While no structures were destroyed and air quality near Bend remained manageable, the escape highlighted the difficulty of executing even carefully planned prescribed burns under current drought and weather conditions.
Forest Service Cuts Add Pressure
The funding delays come alongside sweeping organizational cuts announced for the U.S. Forest Service, which manages roughly one-third of America's public lands. PBS NewsHour reported that the agency is undergoing "dramatic overhaul of cuts, closures and consolidation" under the Trump administration's proposed FY2027 budget, which seeks to slash billions from the agency's programs.
Fire managers and conservation groups warn that reducing both the Forest Service workforce and the community grant programs at the same time will leave forests with more unburned fuel accumulation heading into an already dangerous fire season — compounding risk for communities across the Pacific Northwest and beyond.