Producers Lauren Bogard and Lilly Bock-Brownstein are joined by Timothy Ingalsbee of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology (FUSEE). Timothy explains why the Trump administration’s rushed reorganization of federal firefighting is so risky, what it means for the firefighters already heading into a dangerous season short-staffed, and why he sees the whole effort as less like reform and more like sabotage.

In the news this week, the Senate voted to open the Boundary Waters to copper mining, and emails show Secretary Doug Burgum secretly helped craft talking points for Senator Mike Lee’s land sell-off bill. Plus, some big news from Aaron and the CWP team!

News

Senate Votes to Allow Mining Near Minnesota Wilderness — New York Times
Trump’s Interior Dept. Crafted Talking Points For Mike Lee’s Public Land Sell-Off Scheme — Public Domain
Leadership shuffle at Western conservation group — E&E News

Resources

Timothy Ingalsbee: Fire Consolidation as Creative Destruction? Trump’s Proposed U.S. Wildland Fire Service
Watch this episode on YouTube

Produced by Aaron Weiss, Lauren Bogard, and Lilly Bock-Brownstein
Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org
Music: Purple Planet
Featured image: Steve Segin, USFWS

The post The dangerous rush to consolidate America’s wildfire response appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.