WASHINGTON STATE — Twenty states and the District of Columbia sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture on March 23, 2026, to block new funding terms imposed on the Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program. The lawsuit followed a December 31, 2025 memo signed by USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins that changed terms and conditions for partnerships with the agency to advance policies that put America First.

Twenty-two states and two Tribes were promised $200 million through the grant program, including groups in Hawaii and Wisconsin that have not received funding. The Forest Service had not released close to $20 million to Washington state groups for burning projects.

"Almost every state is in this position," said State Forester George Geissler. "It does not matter if you're blue or red."

Geissler said he could not legally accept the new terms because they include conditions that violate Washington state laws. "I have to sign that we're accepting the money so that it can go out, and we can't sign it," he said.

The Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program was launched in 2022 and funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for five years with $1 billion. The program typically awards money by early in the year in time for spring conditions. During the Biden administration, Washington groups received more than $52 million from the Forest Service to carry out burns on state, private and nonprofit forested areas.

The Forest Service had promised the Columbia Land Trust, a conservation nonprofit in southern Washington, a grant of more than $9 million to carry out work over five years. As of April 2026, land manager Adam Lieberg had not received any of the funding.

"If we don't have both steady streams of state and federal funds for our forest health crisis, then the work doesn't get done," Lieberg said. "The fires continue to get larger and more catastrophic."

He said the delay had affected hiring and seasonal planning. "We have a position that is critically important to what we're doing. And we can't hire that position right now because of the uncertainty that's going on," Lieberg said.

Other federal policies announced in 2026 further limit burning on public lands. About one third of Americans live in areas vulnerable to wildfires, according to Forest Service research.