{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/barrasso-questions-forest-service-chief-on-timber-production-livestock-grazing-and-combatting-wildfires/", "Barrasso Questions Forest Service Chief on Timber Production, Livestock Grazing, and Combatting Wildfires", "2026-05-13", "2026", "2026-05", "Republican", "Senate", "WY", "John Barrasso", "B001261", "www.barrasso.senate.gov", "barrasso", "https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/newsroom/news-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) questioned U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Chief Tom Schultz on supporting timber production, livestock grazing on federal lands, allowing ranchers to use vacant allotments during natural disasters, and USFS collaboration with state agencies to combat wildfires.\n\nChief Schultz testified during today\u2019s Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee hearing to examine President Trump\u2019s budget request for the USFS for Fiscal Year 2027.\n\nOn Vacant Allotments:\n\n\u201cThanks, Mr. Chairman. Thanks so much for being here.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m grateful for what you\u2019ve been doing in terms of all of the issues in Wyoming.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ve been to the state. You visited with people. You\u2019ve been to Riverton, had meetings.\n\n\u201cAll of these things have been tremendous. And I hear great, great feedback from the people of Wyoming on the work that you have been doing. So, thank you very much for that.\n\n\u201cI wanted to just talk about vacant allotments.\n\n\u201cI have a bill currently before the Senate, S. 211. It\u2019s called the RANCH Act \u2013 Resiliency for Ranching and Natural Conservation Health Act.\n\n\u201cIt allows for temporary use of vacant grazing allotments during extreme events and disasters. Especially on vacant allotments on our National Forest lands.\n\n\u201cThis past wildfire season, you know, was one of the worst we have seen in the past decade.\n\n\u201cThank you for coming today with the maps for all of us to see what\u2019s going on in our own states with ongoing problems we\u2019re having with moisture and the need for that.\n\n\u201cYou clearly have a good assessment of the situation, which is greatly concerning to all of us.\n\n\u201cSo, we\u2019re anticipating this year is going to be a bad wildfire season.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s more important now than ever that we provide the agency the authority to help ranchers in emergency situations.\n\n\u201cThis RANCH Act is going to help ranchers and rural communities work with Washington \u2013 not against it.\n\n\u201cIt passed the Senate last Congress unanimously.\n\n\u201cHow would this piece of legislation help expedite the process for ranchers to utilize vacant allotments in disaster situations?\u201d\n\nOn Grasslands Grazing:\n\n\u201cI want to talk next about grasslands grazing. Another one of my bills in front of the Senate, S. 2878. It\u2019s called the Grasslands Grazing Act.\n\n\u201cLivestock grazing on federal lands has a strong tradition in Wyoming and certainly across the West.\n\n\u201cFederal grazing is a necessary tool for wildfire prevention and for promoting rangeland health.\n\n\u201cIt is widely used by both the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.\n\n\u201cThe Forest Service manages the national forests and national grasslands. Livestock grazing is done on both of these.\n\n\u201cSo, I was pleased that Congresswoman Hageman from Wyoming was able to get the House companion to my bill included in the Farm Bill that just passed the House last month.\n\n\u201cDoes this legislation still have your agency\u2019s support?\u201d\n\nOn State Collaboration:\n\n\u201cThen, in terms of collaborating with the states, already this year we have all seen fires. And they\u2019ve been in Wyoming, as well. We\u2019ve talked a little bit about that.\n\n\u201cJust last month, the Bighorn Recreation Canyon saw a large fire.\n\n\u201cIt took a joint federal response to help control the burn.\n\n\u201cRural communities in the West are bracing for what will likely be another devastating wildfire season.\n\n\u201cAs more incidents start and suppression resources are spread thin, federal and state agencies, I believe, need to work together.\n\n\u201cHow is the Forest Service engaging state, local and private partners to ensure we can effectively respond to wildfires?\u201d\n\nFollow-up:\n\n\u201cKelly Norris is terrific. She\u2019s been here to testify on a couple of occasions. So, thanks for pointing out how closely you\u2019re working with her.\u201d\n\nOn Timber Production:\n\n\u201cI want to talk about timber production.\n\n\u201cThe Forest Service has been following the new Executive Orders to increase timber production.\n\n\u201cSo, I\u2019m supportive of the steps the Trump Administration has been making to improve timber production since the last Administration hindered so many timber plants and timber operations.\n\n\u201cCan you give us an update on how the agency has been managing an increase in timber production?\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-05-15T06:17:41Z", "2026-05-15T06:18:51Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/barrasso-questions-forest-service-chief-on-timber-production-livestock-grazing-and-combatting-wildfires/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.886034220457077, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}