• Education
    • Higher Education
    • Scholarships & Grants
    • Online Learning
    • School Reforms
    • Research & Innovation
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • Home & Living
    • Relationships & Family
  • Technology & Startups
    • Software & Apps
    • Startup Success Stories
    • Startups & Innovations
    • Tech Regulations
    • Venture Capital
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cybersecurity
    • Emerging Technologies
    • Gadgets & Devices
    • Industry Analysis
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy
Today Headline
  • Home
  • World News
    • Us & Canada
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Middle East
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • Political Parties
    • Government Policies
    • International Relations
    • Legislative News
  • Business & Finance
    • Market Trends
    • Stock Market
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Corporate News
    • Economic Policies
  • Science & Environment
    • Space Exploration
    • Climate Change
    • Wildlife & Conservation
    • Environmental Policies
    • Medical Research
  • Health
    • Public Health
    • Mental Health
    • Medical Breakthroughs
    • Fitness & Nutrition
    • Pandemic Updates
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Tennis
    • Olympics
    • Motorsport
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV & Streaming
    • Celebrity News
    • Awards & Festivals
  • Crime & Justice
    • Court Cases
    • Cybercrime
    • Policing
    • Criminal Investigations
    • Legal Reforms
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • World News
    • Us & Canada
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Middle East
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • Political Parties
    • Government Policies
    • International Relations
    • Legislative News
  • Business & Finance
    • Market Trends
    • Stock Market
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Corporate News
    • Economic Policies
  • Science & Environment
    • Space Exploration
    • Climate Change
    • Wildlife & Conservation
    • Environmental Policies
    • Medical Research
  • Health
    • Public Health
    • Mental Health
    • Medical Breakthroughs
    • Fitness & Nutrition
    • Pandemic Updates
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Tennis
    • Olympics
    • Motorsport
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV & Streaming
    • Celebrity News
    • Awards & Festivals
  • Crime & Justice
    • Court Cases
    • Cybercrime
    • Policing
    • Criminal Investigations
    • Legal Reforms
No Result
View All Result
Today Headline
No Result
View All Result
Home Science & Environment Environmental Policies

Trump backs higher pay for wildland firefighters while DOGE cuts staff

March 20, 2025
in Environmental Policies
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
0
Trump backs higher pay for wildland firefighters while DOGE cuts staff
3
SHARES
6
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


Wildland firefighters will keep a four-year-old pay hike under a GOP-led spending bill signed by President Donald Trump, but many worry that mass federal worker firings will leave the nation more vulnerable to wildfires.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Wednesday credited Trump with securing the pay increase in a post on the social media site X. He said the administration is grateful to firefighters who he said “embody the American spirit by selflessly risking their lives to protect their neighbors, protect their communities, and preserve our natural heritage.”

The permanent pay raise comes as Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has cut about 3,400 workers at the U.S. Forest Service, about 1,000 at the National Park Service and another 1,000 at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Many of those workers kept trails free of debris, oversaw prescribed burns, thinned forests and were specially trained to work with firefighters. They say staffing cuts threaten public safety, especially in the West, where drier and hotter conditions linked to climate change have increased the intensity of wildfires.

“What I’m hearing from my constituents who actually fight fires in Washington state is that Trump and Elon are making wildland firefighters’ jobs far more difficult and far more dangerous by indiscriminately firing thousands of Forest Service workers and others who support wildland firefighting,” Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray said in an email to The Associated Press. “It’s disingenuous and frankly insulting for this administration to pretend otherwise.”

The federal government has been rehiring some employees under court order after the firings were challenged.

According to the National Federation of Federal Employees, wildland firefighters first began receiving a raise — 50%, or up to $20,000 — temporarily in 2021 as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law signed by then-President Joe Biden. Congress subsequently extended the raise on a short-term basis.

Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, oversees forest spending as chair of the House Interior and Environment Appropriations subcommittee and worked to make the pay raise permanent.

“A permanent pay fix for our wildland firefighters will strengthen recruitment and retention while providing financial security to the first responders who protect our communities,” Simpson said.

Randy Erwin, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, likewise celebrated the raise, saying the union had been fighting for it for years.

“Now, that fight is paying off,” Erwin said. “A permanent pay fix means we can shift our focus to addressing other critical issues — recruitment and retention, housing, mental health benefits, rest and recuperation, and the overall well-being of our nation’s wildland firefighting workforce.”

He warned that continued efforts by the Trump administration to cut firefighters and their support personnel “will cripple the workforce and make Americans less safe.”

“Congress must not let these harmful plans be carried out,” Erwin said.

Washington State Forester George Geissler, who leads the state’s wildland firefighting efforts, has more than 30 years of experience with wildfires. He said federal officials don’t appreciate the roles those workers play in fighting fires.

“I don’t think there is a desire to reduce the number of firefighters with the Forest Service,” he said Wednesday. “But I do think there is a clear lack of understanding about how the interagency wildland fire system is set up, how it works, and how people that don’t have ‘firefighter’ listed as their job are still a massive part of the response system in the country.”

Former NOAA administrator Rick Spinrad said a reduction in that agency’s workforce will also critically inhibit wildland firefighting.

Spinrad said NOAA and the National Weather Service have about 100 “incident meteorologists,” or I-Mets, who deploy to wildfires to provide support on the scene — such as by letting firefighters know where the winds are coming from and what weather conditions are forecast.

“I know for a fact that some of those I-Mets will not be on the job, so that capability is going to be compromised,” Spinrad said during a recent news conference with several laid-off NOAA workers.

Gregg Bafundo was laid off last month from job as a wilderness ranger and wildland firefighter in Washington’s Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.

Bafundo is among those who have at least temporarily been called back to work, but his long-term future with the agency is unclear.

“I have always placed myself between the danger and my fellow citizens, and now I feel like I’ve been cast aside like some sort of parasite class or some kind of fraud,” he said during a news conference hosted by Murray last month. “These heartless and gutless firings will lead to the loss of lives and property.”

Tags: backscutsDOGEfirefightersHigherpaystaffTrumpwildland
Previous Post

Parts of the brain that are needed to remember words identified

Next Post

Next-Generation Water Satellite Maps Seafloor From Space

Related Posts

Out of the Wild: How A.I. Is Transforming Conservation Science

May 23, 2025
5
Bureau of Land Management releases arctic lease sale analysis

House votes to take away clean energy tax credits

May 22, 2025
6
Next Post

Next-Generation Water Satellite Maps Seafloor From Space

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Family calls for change after B.C. nurse dies by suicide after attacks on the job

Family calls for change after B.C. nurse dies by suicide after attacks on the job

April 2, 2025
Pioneering 3D printing project shares successes

Product reduces TPH levels to non-hazardous status

November 27, 2024

Hospital Mergers Fail to Deliver Better Care or Lower Costs, Study Finds todayheadline

December 31, 2024

Police ID man who died after Corso Italia fight

December 23, 2024
Harris tells supporters 'never give up' and urges peaceful transfer of power

Harris tells supporters ‘never give up’ and urges peaceful transfer of power

0
Des Moines Man Accused Of Shooting Ex-Girlfriend's Mother

Des Moines Man Accused Of Shooting Ex-Girlfriend’s Mother

0

Trump ‘looks forward’ to White House meeting with Biden

0
Catholic voters were critical to Donald Trump’s blowout victory: ‘Harris snubbed us’

Catholic voters were critical to Donald Trump’s blowout victory: ‘Harris snubbed us’

0
Underwater photo of a humpback whale

Could deciphering dolphin language help us communicate with ET?

May 23, 2025
$21M funding to bring AI to rural clinics in India

$21M funding to bring AI to rural clinics in India

May 23, 2025
Become the NBA's most difficult team to beat

Become the NBA’s most difficult team to beat

May 23, 2025
Starmer's migration plans will damage Wales, first minister fears

Starmer’s migration plans will damage Wales, first minister fears

May 23, 2025

Recent News

Underwater photo of a humpback whale

Could deciphering dolphin language help us communicate with ET?

May 23, 2025
4
$21M funding to bring AI to rural clinics in India

$21M funding to bring AI to rural clinics in India

May 23, 2025
3
Become the NBA's most difficult team to beat

Become the NBA’s most difficult team to beat

May 23, 2025
2
Starmer's migration plans will damage Wales, first minister fears

Starmer’s migration plans will damage Wales, first minister fears

May 23, 2025
3

TodayHeadline is a dynamic news website dedicated to delivering up-to-date and comprehensive news coverage from around the globe.

Follow Us

Browse by Category

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Basketball
  • Business & Finance
  • Climate Change
  • Crime & Justice
  • Economic Policies
  • Elections
  • Entertainment
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Environmental Policies
  • Europe
  • Football
  • Gadgets & Devices
  • Health
  • Medical Research
  • Mental Health
  • Middle East
  • Motorsport
  • Olympics
  • Politics
  • Public Health
  • Relationships & Family
  • Science & Environment
  • Software & Apps
  • Space Exploration
  • Sports
  • Stock Market
  • Technology & Startups
  • Tennis
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Us & Canada
  • Wildlife & Conservation
  • World News

Recent News

Underwater photo of a humpback whale

Could deciphering dolphin language help us communicate with ET?

May 23, 2025
$21M funding to bring AI to rural clinics in India

$21M funding to bring AI to rural clinics in India

May 23, 2025
  • Education
  • Lifestyle
  • Technology & Startups
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy

© 2024 Todayheadline.co

Welcome Back!

OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Business & Finance
  • Corporate News
  • Economic Policies
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Market Trends
  • Crime & Justice
  • Court Cases
  • Criminal Investigations
  • Cybercrime
  • Legal Reforms
  • Policing
  • Education
  • Higher Education
  • Online Learning
  • Entertainment
  • Awards & Festivals
  • Celebrity News
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Health
  • Fitness & Nutrition
  • Medical Breakthroughs
  • Mental Health
  • Pandemic Updates
  • Lifestyle
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Food & Drink
  • Home & Living
  • Politics
  • Elections
  • Government Policies
  • International Relations
  • Legislative News
  • Political Parties
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Middle East
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Cybersecurity
  • Emerging Technologies
  • Gadgets & Devices
  • Industry Analysis
  • Basketball
  • Football
  • Motorsport
  • Olympics
  • Climate Change
  • Environmental Policies
  • Medical Research
  • Science & Environment
  • Space Exploration
  • Wildlife & Conservation
  • Sports
  • Tennis
  • Technology & Startups
  • Software & Apps
  • Startup Success Stories
  • Startups & Innovations
  • Tech Regulations
  • Venture Capital
  • Uncategorized
  • World News
  • Us & Canada
  • Public Health
  • Relationships & Family
  • Travel
  • Research & Innovation
  • Scholarships & Grants
  • School Reforms
  • Stock Market
  • TV & Streaming
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy
  • About us
  • Contact

© 2024 Todayheadline.co