Every year, wildfires tear through American communities — burning homes, destroying forests, and putting lives at risk. Protecting people from that threat has always been something we could agree on, no matter where we live or how we vote. But right now, a new federal policy is standing in the way of that protection.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently updated the terms and conditions for its partnership agreements, requiring states to pledge compliance with the administration's positions on DEI programs, immigration, and gender policy in order to receive Forest Service funding. States whose laws conflict with those requirements can't sign — and that means wildfire grants and forest protection projects are stalling.

In Washington state, roughly 10 communities are waiting on Community Wildfire Defense Grants that have been frozen because the state can't agree to the new terms. Agreements that allow states to do critical work on federal forest lands — reducing dangerous fuel buildup, restoring forest health, managing timber — are also on hold. According to Washington State Forester George Geissler, without new agreements, work on the ground could stop within six to eight months.

This isn't a partisan issue. Rural towns, timber workers, and families living near national forests in both red and blue states depend on this work getting done. The people who fight these fires and the communities that bear the costs don't have the luxury of waiting out a political standoff.

We're calling on Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and the U.S. Forest Service to immediately separate wildfire safety funding from ideological compliance requirements. Protecting communities from fire is too important to be held hostage to political litmus tests.

Sign this petition to demand that federal wildfire funding reach the communities that need it — now, before fire season gets worse.