U.S. Forest Service

In June, the Trump administration called for a consolidation of federal wildfire agencies “to achieve the most efficient and effective use of wildland fire offices.” Now federal leaders have released plans about how to carry out the order.

The federal government has issued new guidelines to wildland firefighters for the voluntary use of protective masks. The move comes as knowledge of long-term health risks faced by such workers – including cancer – grows.

Idaho’s two Republican senators are signing on to a bipartisan bill that would triple the budget of a program to clean up water sources in national forests.

The Idaho Attorney General’s Office is suing the U.S. Forest Service over its denial of a public records request seeking federal wildfire suppression policies used in the state since 2012.

The plan, released last week by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, would eliminate the Forest Service’s nine regional offices over the next year, including offices in Montana, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. Retirees from the agency said they were "extremely concerned."

The Forest Service's new chief recently published a letter that called for wildfires to be suppressed "as swiftly as possible." That may sound prudent to many, but it raised eyebrows among some who study fire policy. They worried that it may signal a return to aggressive suppression that has been linked to growing wildfire severity.

Plaintiffs say it would damage the area’s native plants and water supply.

Despite public land making up about 63% of Idaho, it will not be affected by the latest Trump administration attempt to rollback regulations related to roads and logging on forest service acreage.

It's Friday and time for our Reporter Roundtable when Idaho Matters catches you up on the past week's headlines.

An Idaho businessman tapped to become the new leader of the U.S. Forest Service faced little questioning over his past land disputes with the agency during his confirmation hearing.