Wyoming Senator Talks Wildfire Response with New Forest Service Chief

JULY 11, 2025 |

In the U.S. Senate on Thursday, Wyoming Senator John Barrasso questioned Tom Schultz, the new U.S. Forest Service Chief about wildfire response as we move deep into the summer months.

Senator Barrasso questioned Schultz about how the Forest Service is engaging state, local and private partners to ensure the groups can effectively respond to wildfires.

Senator Barrasso noted that about 63 million acres of national forest lands are at high risk of wildfire. In Fiscal Year 2024, the Forest Service treated about 15 percent of those threatened lands, or four million acres. Senator Barrasso asked Schultz how he intends to lead the agency and catch up from the last four years in forest management. Schultz said forming partnerships with states and other entities will be part of the solution.

The draft assessment of the Forest Management plan for the Bridger Teton, started in 2024, was released this week for public review. During his testimony on Capitol Hill on Thursday, Schultz said the entire process should take up to three years to complete.

In a separate matter in Washington on Thursday, Senator Barrasso introduced legislation to prevent the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) electronic public comment system from being sabotaged by foreign adversaries and Artificial Intelligence (AI) bots.

Currently, the federal government’s online comment system allows comments from individuals, organizations, or anonymous users, with no safeguards to prevent foreign individuals or AI bots from submitting comments relating to sweeping policy and rule proposals.

Barrasso’s legislation, called American Voices in Federal Lands Act, would restrict the public comment process and ensure only American citizens are providing feedback on the policies affecting American energy production and federal lands.