New burn bans and the Administration’s battle with immigration and DEI are impacting forest fires

(NPR) It was a rare windless April day in southern Washington and Adam Lieberg was stuck in front of his computer. He was supposed to be burning acres of twigs and pine needles in the forests between the Columbia River and the Yakama Nation nearby — the sort of controlled burn of ground fuel that is one of the most effective ways to minimize future wildfires.

Lieberg, a land manager for the conservation nonprofit Columbia…