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Trump dismantling US forest services? What we know about 57 facilities closing
The Trump administration is relocating the US Forest Service headquarters to Utah and closing dozens of research facilities.
The Trump administration has announced a sweeping restructuring of the US Forest Service, moving its headquarters from Washington, DC to Salt Lake City, Utah and closing 57 of its 77 research facilities across 31 states. The administration calls it a reorganization. Critics call it something far more serious.
What administration is doing?
According to the Associated Press, the US Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service will move its headquarters to Salt Lake City, with the shift expected to be completed by summer 2027. Around 260 jobs in Washington will be relocated, while about 130 employees will stay.
At the same time, the agency will close 57 research facilities and shut down all nine regional offices. Its research work will be brought together into one main office in Fort Collins, Colorado.
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Why critics are worried?
Environmental groups and scientists are concerned about this plan, mainly because of what happened before with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
During Trump’s first term, the BLM was moved to Colorado for similar reasons. According to the New York Times, more than 87% of the staff left their jobs after the move which caused a major loss of experienced workers. The Biden administration later moved the office back but much of the experience had already been lost.
Now, critics fear the same thing could happen with the Forest Service. Some scientists, speaking anonymously, said many employees may leave instead of relocating. One senior scientist said the agency has not clearly explained if their research will continue to get funding, making it hard to decide whether to stay or leave.
The Forest Service had already lost nearly 6,000 employees in early 2025 due to cuts and early retirements. Critics say more relocations could weaken the agency even further.
The Wilderness Society also warned this move could repeat the same problem and lead to the loss of experienced workers.
Fears over impact on forest research
Critics say closing 57 research facilities could harm important long-term studies. Many of these sites are based at universities or experimental forests where scientists track wildfires, drought, climate change, endangered species and forest recovery over years. Losing them could mean losing valuable data.
As per New York Times, Kevin Hood said, "This move will lead to an increasing divergence between sound science and land management."
One researcher added, "There are all these people who have done amazing work for decades on everything from acid rain to climate and they have put them in a new bin called 'forest management,'"
With the western US already facing extreme heat, drought and wildfire risks, Josh Hicks told AP that, “At a time when wildfires are getting worse, and access to public lands is already under strain, the last thing we need is an unnecessary reorganization that creates chaos and confusion for the land managers, researchers and wildland firefighters who help keep our forests healthy now and for future generations.”
The Trump administration says this is a restructuring and Forest Service leaders say the agency’s work will continue. They also confirmed that the firefighting workforce will not be affected.
The administration says the goal is efficiency, but critics argue that whether it is called restructuring or dismantling, the impact on the country’s forests could be the same.
