The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Forest Service: Insights for Local Job Creation and Equity from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

The USDA Forest Service received $5.447 billion in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021, providing substantial funding to support implementation of the agency’s 2022 Wildfire Crisis Strategy between fiscal years 2022 and 2026. This article examines how the agency might enhance local job creation and equity while conducting wildfire risk reduction and ecosystem restoration under the strategy using these funds. It does this by drawing on five key findings from a socioeconomic assessment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) that are applicable today. The ARRA provided the Forest Service with $1.15 billion for wildfire, restoration, and infrastructure projects to foster job creation in counties most affected by the economic recession of 2007–2009. In addition to insights from the ARRA, we highlight the importance of considering job quality, the meaning of equity in local job creation, and characteristics of today’s forest management businesses and workforces. Study Implications: The Forest Service can learn from past experiences in implementing new programs of work. The frameworks through which agency funding are channeled influence the scope, type, and location of opportunities for local businesses and job creation, and the selection of communities for investment. Decisions about which tools and authorities to use when implementing Forest Service projects are key in determining access to forest management work for a diversity of business types. It is important to consider job quality as well as job quantity associated with agency initiatives to create local jobs through special funding opportunities like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.