As it slowed the rate of wildfire fuels reduction on federal forest lands, the U.S. Forest Service has also returned to a firefighting policy that could also boost levels of flammable materials in western forests.

A recent analysis by the advocacy group Grassroots Wildland Firefighters indicated that both nationwide and in Montana, prescribed burns and other fuels reduction projects have dropped sharply. That overall decrease in fuels-reduction work is consistent with congressional testimony by Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz in mid-September.

The agency head, appointed earlier this year by President Donald Trump, has also embraced a policy of fully suppressing new wildfire starts. In his May “Wildfire letter of intent” for the 2025 fire season, Schultz emphasized his goal to “fully sup

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