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April 4, 2019
Forest Service: FY2019 Appropriations and FY2020 Request
The Forest Service (FS) is responsible for managing 193
million acres of land in the National Forest System (NFS);
conducting forestry research; and providing assistance to
state, local, private, and international forest owners. FS is
an agency within the Department of Agriculture, yet it
receives discretionary appropriations through the Interior,
Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.
For FY2019, total FS discretionary appropriations were
$6.087 billion (P.L. 116-6). This FY2019 discretionary
appropriation was 3% ($152.5 million) above the FY2018
regular appropriation of $5.935 billion (P.L. 115-141).
Congress provided an additional $646.3 million to FS in
FY2018 in emergency supplemental appropriations (P.L.
115-72, and P.L. 115-123), bringing the total to $6.581
billion. Using that figure, the FY2019 appropriations were
8% ($493.8 million) below the total enacted FY2018 level.
For FY2020, the Administration requested $5.140 billion,
16% less than the FY2019-enacted level.
FY20 19 Discretionary Appropriations
FS discretionary appropriations for FY2019 were mostly in
six accounts (see Table 1 and Figure 1). The largest
share-49% ($3.005 billion)-went to the Wildland Fire
Management (WFM) account. WFM funds activities related
to the preparation for and suppression of wildfires. The
FY2019 WFM appropriations were $124.6 million (4%)
above the regular-enacted FY2018 level ($2.880 billion),
but $59.9 million (2%) below the total FY2018 enacted
figure of $3.065 billion, which reflects an additional $184.5
million of emergency supplemental appropriations. Within
WFM, the FY2019 appropriations included funding for
Suppression Operations at the 10-year suppression
obligation average of $1.165 billion plus an additional
$500.0 million. In FY2018, FS transferred $720.3 million
from other accounts for suppression purposes. The FY2019
appropriations may be used to repay those funds but did not
provide additional funding.
The FY2019 appropriations continued a budgetary
restructuring from FY2018 that moved some programs
previously funded through WFM to other accounts. For
example, Hazardous Fuels was funded in the National
Forest System (NFS) account, and State Fire Assistance and
Volunteer Fire Assistance were funded in the State and
Private Forestry (SPF) account. In addition, the FY2019
appropriations law did not provide any funding for the FS's
FLAME wildfire suppression reserve account.
Figure I. Share of Total FS FY2019 Appropriations
Source: CRS. Data from P.L. 116-6 Division E.
Notes: See Table I for account abbreviations.
Table I. Forest Service (FS) Discretionary Appropriations, by Account ($ in millions)
FY2018 FY2019 % Change FY2020 % Change
Account Enacted Enacted from FY2018 Requested from FY2019
Forest and Rangeland Research (FRR) $297.0 $300.0 1% $254.5 -15%
State and Private Forestry (SPF) 329.6 [337.1] 335.5 2% 182.3 -46%
National Forest System (NFS) 1,923.8 [1,944.4] 1,938.0 1% 1,912.8 -1%
Capital Improvement& Maintenance (CIM) 434.0 [525.6] 431.0 -1% 434.0 1%
Land Acquisition (LA) 64.3 72.6 13% 0 -100%
Wildland Fire Management (WFM) 2,880.3 [3,064.8] 3,005.0 4% 2,350.6 -22%
FLAME 0 [342.0] 0 - 0 -
Othera 5.7 5.1 -10% 6.3 24%
Total 5,934.7 [6,580.9] 6,087.1 3% 5,140.5 -16%
Source: P.L. 115-141 Division G; P.L. 115-72; P.L. 115-123; P.L. 116-6 Division E; FS FY2020 budget justification.
Notes: Figures reflect rescissions from the SPF account and deferrals from the Roads and Trails Fund in CIM. For FY20 18, figures in brackets
reflect total appropriations including $646.3 million in supplemental emergency-designated appropriations provided outside of discretionary
spending limits ($7.5 million for SPF, $20.7 million for NFS, $91.6 million for CIM, $184.5 million for WFM, and $342.0 million for FLAME). The
percent change from FY2018 column reflects change from the regular FY2018 appropriations. Column totals may not add due to rounding.
a. This row reflects total FS appropriations to other relatively small accounts, including for specified land acquisition activities; the Range
Betterment Fund; gifts, donations, and bequests for research; and management of national forest lands for subsistence uses.
https:/crsreports.cwigre-- -
Total FS discretionary appropriation
for FY2019: $6.087 billion
WF1
C 2
Other 0.1%
LA 1%
F6%
qFS %1
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