Americans may want the federal government to increase its budget for wildfire prevention. That’s according to a new national survey.
In 2024, Congress gave the U.S. Forest Service $3.3 billion for suppressing fires. That’s more than 10 times the budget for preventing them ($278 million), or making them less severe with forest thinning or prescribed burns.
But a University of Wyoming survey shows people want a more even split, especially residents in the West, where the majority of fires occur.
That’s according to Department of Economics PhD candidate Peri Brimley, who led the research.
“We're not trying to defund suppression,” Brimley said. “But we do have to think about what the value of a dollar is within a finite budget. And is that more effectively allocated to suppression or is it more effectively allocated to prevention? “
Research shows investing in prevention can help future suppression be more cost effective. Brimley said reducing dead leaves, fallen trees and other debris can help make fires less catastrophic.
“The environmental fuels can accumulate so when a fire occurs, it will consume all of them,” she said. “That's how fires can get really, really big.”
Historically, the public has wanted more of a complete suppression style, Brimley said. The Forest Service has signaled a return to a more complete suppression style of fire management. In late May, the agency’s chief, Tom Schultz, called for wildfires to be extinguished “as swiftly as possible.”
But there are still efforts to boost preventative methods, which Brimley said the public may be growing more supportive of.
Congress is currently considering the Fix Our Forests Act, which could streamline environmental reviews around forest management and accelerate the removal of hazardous fuels.
Funding for the University of Wyoming survey, which is currently being reviewed for an academic journal, came from the National Science Foundation. Todd Cherry, with the College of Business, and Bryan Leonard and Jacob Hochard, with the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, helped conduct the research.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
