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Cut, Cut, Cut: Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. Sequoia National Forest. Black Hills National Forest. 193 million acres of some of America’s most iconic land are all managed by the US Forest Service. If you assume land like this could never be sold to developers or timber interests, the Trump Administration would like a word. It’s restructuring the Forest Service in a way critics call a backdoor dismantling — weakening the agency enough to open America’s forests to logging, roadbuilding, mining, and grazing, and eventually make land-transfer or selloff easier down the road. “This is not going to strengthen the Forest Service,” said Robbie Bonnie, the Forest Service chief under President Obama. “It’s about blowing things up.”
**So, That’s Important:**The US Forest Service employs30,000 peoplewho manage 193 million acres of public land. They fight wildfires, maintain trails, protect watersheds and produce the research that makes all of it possible. The administration’s restructuring is more than a staffing shuffle. It’s a shift in who the agency serves and what it is designed to protect.**What the Administration Says:**The USDA, which houses the Forest Service, claimsthese changes will“boost timber production” and bring leadership closer to “ranchers and timber producers.” It says the restructuring will make the agency “nimble, efficient, effective, and closer to the forests and communities it serves.” Note what’s not on that list: protecting the forests themselves.**What is Actually Changing:**In March theTrump administrationlaunched what it calls a “sweeping restructuring.” That involves moving the Forest Service headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City,closing57research facilities— roughly three-quarters of the agency’s research sites — and eliminating the regional office structure in favor of a state-based model.**Move, Retire or Leave?**The Forest Service says this does not mean research programs or scientific positions are being eliminated, and that in some cases “closure”means simply“consolidating” offices, closing buildings while relocating staff and programs. Critics say that distinction may be technically true and the results practically devastating. One thirty-year Forest Service veteransaid employees see three choices: “move, or retire, or leave.” Scientists warn the changes willdestroy place-specific knowledgethat can’t be rebuilt. That same veteranput it plainly: “They’re going to take these folks that are typically in rural areas of the country and move them into the city” where they can’t do their “tremendously important work.”The New Headquarters: Salt Lake City, Utah, is home to Sen. Mike Lee and isground zerofor a well-funded push tosell off federal land(complete with a high pricedPR firm). The state is currentlysuing the federal governmentto seize control of millions of acres.
**More Timber:**The restructuring didn't come out of nowhere. In March 2025, Trump ordered changes that drove a25%increase in domestic timber production. The USDAthen designatednearly113 million acresof National Forest System land — about 59% of all Forest Service land — as an “emergency situation,” meant to expedite forest management and timber production. It also moved to rescind the Clinton administration’s 2001 Roadless Rule, effectively opening nearly59 millionacres to new road construction. The restructuring is the next step.**Warnings Ignored:**Critics call it astrategic repositioning—shifting authority closer to the political and commercial interests that are pushing for more extraction, while weakening the parts of the agency most likely to push back — specifically the scientists and researchers. The USDAreceived 14,000 commentsabout the planned restructuring; 82% of the comments were against it. Tribal leaders alsoraised concerns. The administration proceeded anyway.The Human Toll:“Reactions range from crying to anger to silence,” said aMidwest-based employee. The administration maintains only alimited number of employeeswill need to relocate. Critics say this obscures the broader damage from buyouts, layoffs, resignations and forced relocation. The Forest Service hasalready lost roughly 16%of its workforce under Trump.**A Familiar Playbook:**The closest precedent is not encouraging. In Trump’s first term, the BLM went through anearly identical restructuring— relocated to Grand Junction in Colorado. About87%of its reassigned Washington staff resigned rather than relocate, which critics argue was no accident.
**Fewer Funds, Fewer Protections:**The restructuring comes on top of cuts already underway. The Trump administrationslashedfunding,requested more cuts in 2027, andtried to eliminate forest research entirely. DOGEaxed more than 16% of the workforce. (Some of those attempted layoffs wereblocked in court.) The damage is showing: In 2025, the agency’s wildfire mitigation workdropped by 38%and trail maintenance by 22%. “Our public lands are not being cared for the way they need to be,”said Tracy Stone-Manning, who led the BLM under President Biden. “What that means is ultimately people will throw up their hands and say the federal government can’t manage them, let’s sell them off.”**Savings, With Costs:**The administration says the changes will save taxpayer money, but USDA chief Brooke Rollins acknowledged in a Senate hearing that moving the headquarters to Utah will come withits own costs. There’s also a legal question: FY2026 appropriations languageappears to restrict USDAfrom using funds for certain office relocations or reorganizations without congressional approval.**The New Forest Math:**Meanwhile, the administration isdoubling down on resource extraction, including mining and logging. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultzmade his priorities clear: “The value of National Forest Systems lands is demonstrated by providing various forest products.” The2027 USDA budgetwould eliminate funding for Forest and Rangeland Research and for State, Private and Tribal Forestry, while prioritizing timber production, recreation access, energy development, and grazing. Schultz previously worked at Idaho Forest Group, where he handled timber procurement and government affairs. Draw your own conclusions.
Legality: Critics argue therestructuring violates federal law. Two bipartisan funding bills – one each from 2025 and 2026 — require proper notice and approval from congressional appropriations committees before changes can be made. An internal USDA memonotes these laws— and instructs agency employees to treat them as unconstitutional and proceed anyway.Precedent: Thisisn’t the first timeTrump administration officials have disregarded legal guardrails. In 2019, Deputy Undersecretary of Agriculture Stephen Vaden, who was then running the USDA’s Office of General Counsel, claimed Supreme Court precedent let the agency relocate research offices without congressional approval. Both theInspector Generaland theGovernment Accountability Officeconfirmed the relocations were illegal. They went ahead anyway.
Officials are pushing the same playbook again. This time, it's 193 million acres of America's most beloved public land on the line.
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