Colorado’s Democratic members of Congress are calling on the U.S. Forest Service to prioritize wildfire mitigation efforts as the West faces a historically low snowpack that is raising concerns about wildfire risk this summer.

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and his colleagues sent a letter to Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz on March 4, noting that Colorado’s snowpack is roughly 60% of median, its lowest level in decades.

“Snowpack conditions in the Rocky Mountains, particularly in Colorado, are deeply concerning,” the letter states. “… These levels point to an early and sustained drying of forests and rangelands, and could lead to a longer and more severe, and potentially catastrophic fire season.”

The letter calls on the Forest Service to “accelerate strategic precommercial forest thinning, prescribed fire and insect/disease treatments, along with other appropriate science-informed fuel reduction projects, where they are safe and effective to reduce wildfire risk and improve forest health.” It was also signed by U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper and Reps. Joe Neguse, Diana DeGette, Brittany Pettersen and Jason Crow.

The Democratic lawmakers noted that staffing at the Forest Service has been reduced under President Donald Trump’s administration. Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Interior fired nearly 8,700 employees and cut about 26% of Colorado’s public lands workforce, according to the letter.

The lawmakers raised concern about an analysis of publicly available data published late last year, which found that wildland mitigation efforts in the West reduced 38% since Trump took office.

“As the West heads into the 2026 fire season during potentially one of the worst droughts on record, this shortfall in critical mitigation work is unacceptable,” the letter states. “The agency must do everything to direct resources and personnel toward high-risk landscapes in the West.”

The Department of Government Efficiency slashed staffing across the federal land management agencies last spring after Trump issued an executive order calling for the elimination of “waste, bloat, and insularity” across the federal government in an effort to “maximize efficiency and productivity.”

Trump has also issued multiple executive orders related to wildfire response, including an executive order to increase timber production. The administration has also initiated plans to consolidate wildfire fighting forces from across the federal government into a unified firefighting force under the Department of Interior.

In Colorado, the Forest Service cuts led to the closure of bathroom facilities at popular recreation areas, shuttered visitor centers and reduced the agency’s enforcement capabilities and trail maintenance, according to interviews with volunteers and nonprofits that work on federal lands. The Colorado State Forester and fire chiefs in mountain towns have also raised alarm about a slowdown in the federal government’s wildfire mitigation work.

“Colorado faces escalating risk and elevated suppression and reconstruction costs, but decisive action could reduce harm to Western communities,” the Colorado lawmakers wrote. “(The Forest Service’s) lack of preparation last year puts communities across the West at risk. The agency must take every possible action now to reduce the extreme danger we face going into potentially one of the driest summers on record.”