©USDAFlickr

…The Women in Wildfire Boot Camp program was established in 2011 and continued for more than a decade before it was terminated because of President Donald Trump’s executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government. …At a July 10 U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, U.S. Forest Service Acting Chief Tom Schultz was asked to explain why the boot camp program was eliminated. He responded, “there are still ample opportunities for all firefighters to be trained without singling out solely women.” …U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada, and six other senators on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee sent a letter to the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior on Friday requesting an explanation for the elimination of the boot camp program and its immediate reinstatement.