The Trump administration has announced a sweeping restructuring of the US Forest Service, which includes moving its headquarters from Washington, DC to Salt Lake City, Utah and closing 57 of its 77 research facilities across 31 states.
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.
The agency will also close 57 research facilities and shut down all nine regional offices, with its research work being brought together into one main office in Fort Collins, Colorado.
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, resulting in a major loss of experienced workers.
Critics fear the same thing could happen with the Forest Service, with some scientists speaking anonymously saying many employees may leave instead of relocating. 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.
Critics also warn that closing 57 research facilities could harm important long-term studies, with many of these sites based at universities or experimental forests where scientists track wildfires, drought, climate change, endangered species and forest recovery over years.
