State officials said Thursday that budget cuts, staff cuts and other drastic changes from the federal government are pose real threats to California’s environmental and climate change advancements.
At a gathering of state top leaders in wildfire response, water resources, natural land and clean energy, they highlighted the way Golden State has long worked with federal agencies and how actions by the Trump administration have put its cooperatives at risk.
“We want federal agencies to succeed, and in reality they need to succeed,” says Wade Crowfoot, California’s natural resources secretary. It says 48% of the state’s land is owned and controlled by the federal government. “If they fail, it will affect the prosperity and safety of Californians.”
State agencies such as the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force, Water Resource of Water Resource and the Energy Commission are among those struggling to keep up with the fast pace of federal cuts, officials said. The Trump administration says the changes are directed at reducing federal waste, saving taxpayers money and increasing the independence of America’s energy.
But state officials are increasingly concerned about changing national priorities, including 10% staffing at the U.S. Forest Service. According to Patrick Wright, director of the California wildfire and forest restoration task force, many of the Forest Service’s excluded employees supported roles such as logistics and transportation, which were important to ensure firefighters were able to do their job.
“All that knowledge will be lost when we are trying to fight fires and prevent them.
Wright said the president’s proposed 2026 budget would eliminate many of the Forest Service’s top scientists, which would negatively affect data systems, analysis and other important tools. And while California has been working to improve forest health and reduce the risk of wildfires through thin, prescribed burns and fuel breaks, Wright said he is concerned about the impact of the president’s order to open millions of acres of national forests for timber production, including all California’s national forests.
“It’s not that wood is unimportant, but we can’t keep an eye on California’s fires and the need for forest resilience,” he said. “There are serious concerns by Forest Service people because focusing solely on timber will focus on community protection, wildfire prevention, habitat protection and other key measures of success.”
But wildfires aren’t the only concerns officials are concerned. Carla Nemez, director of California’s Department of Water Resources, said the agency has been caught up in key elements of the water supply system due to several changes.
Among them is the reduction in staff at the federal US Burial Service. It oversees the central volleyball project. It is a vast network of dams, reservoirs and canals that supply water throughout the state. The Central Valley Project is a federal companion to state water projects that perform similar functions.
This year, the Department of Reclamation lost around 1,400 staff (or more than a quarter of its workforce) and faces a potential budget cut of 33%, Nemeth said.
“Many of our infrastructure operates in a collaborative way, which has an extended effect on how the entire system is assembled,” says Nemeth.
The state is also working closely with the Reclamation Bureau to manage flood protection in California, where several levee and dam safety projects are at risk, Nemeth said. These include projects to strengthen systems along the American River in Sacramento, one of the most flood-prone urban areas in the United States, and to address the devastating 2023 levee violations that are flooded with Pajaro communities.
Leaders from other states, including California State Parks Director Armando Quintero, shared similar horrors. He said the National Park Service faces a potential $100 million budget cut, losing 24% of its permanent staff since January. Over 100 supervisor positions are available. The result was cancelled tours, closed campsites, reduced time and other effects in nine California national parks.
Meanwhile, all 18 people in California’s national forests have lost staff, and the regional office is likely to be eliminated, he said. The state’s roadless regions and national monuments face the threat of lost protection and closures as well.
Jen Ecker, deputy director of marine and coastal policy for the California Natural Resources Agency, said the state is facing losses in coastal protection funds, including approximately $870 million previously awarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency building resilience infrastructure and community grants program.
One such project was a $18 million BRIC grant to help the city of Imperial Beach raise coastal access from infrastructure, habitat and sea level through nature-based levees, Eckerle said.
“Clearly, these actions hinder California’s ability to predict, respond and adapt to climate impacts such as sea level rise, ocean acidification, and ocean heat waves, leading to coastal economic and ecosystem impacts,” she said.
Perhaps one of the biggest areas to suffer is the ambitious push for California’s clean energy. The state has committed to achieving carbon neutrality across the economy by 2045, and has become a national leader in the transition to solar, wind and electric vehicles.
California Energy Committee Chairperson Robert Chun said the Trump administration has made a move to end years of tax credits on clean energy. They will only apply to projects served by December 2027, or construction will begin by July 2026.
The management has also cancelled a $3.7 billion award managed by the Department of Energy’s Clean Energy Demonstration Bureau. At least $800 million is to go to California. The office’s staff has dropped from about 250 to 35, he said.
He added that the Trump administration has removed basic energy efficiency regulations that have existed for decades, making it difficult for California to reduce pollution by revoking the exemption.
Chung said the outcome of these changes is likely to be limited in growth in new industries such as worsening air quality, higher energy costs, lower grid reliability and artificial intelligence. However, he said he remains optimistic about the nation and country’s progress towards clean energy, which he sees inevitable.
“They can slow down the transition to clean energy here and there, but they can’t stop it,” Chun said. “We should not retreat from our vision for a clean energy future or lower our expectations of what we can achieve here in California.”
In fact, state officials said there is a way to push back. California is a party to several lawsuits against the Trump administration. This includes attempts to overturn the state’s clean air waiver. The state is also working to hire laid-off federal employees, especially those who worked on important projects.
Last month, state and national conservation groups also gathered to oppose the GOP-led proposal and sell millions of acres of public land in the western state. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), who led the effort, finally settled the proposal.
“California is focused and focused on our priorities and values,” said Crowfoot, the state’s natural resources secretary. He encouraged residents to maintain information, express concerns to civil servants, and work to build broad, bipartisan coalitions to amplify common priorities when it comes to the state’s environment.
“What we’re talking about today,” he said, “it’s something we all care about.”
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