The USDA announced on March 31 that the headquarters of the U.S. Forest Service will be moved from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City, Utah, as part of a sweeping restructuring of the agency. The move comes as part of a stated effort under President Donald Trump to prioritize having federal leadership closer to the communities it serves. Of the 193 million acres of public land managed by the Forest Service, nearly 167 million acres (86.4%) are west of the Mississippi River.
“Moving the Forest Service closer to the forests we manage is an essential action that will improve our core mission of managing our forests while saving taxpayer dollars and boosting employee recruitment,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said in a statement. “Establishing a Western headquarters in Salt Lake City and streamlining how the Forest Service is organized will position the chief and operation leaders closer to the landscapes we manage and the people who depend on them.”
“This isn’t symbolic. It means better, faster decisions on the ground,” said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. “Everyone who depends on our public lands, from hikers and campers to ranchers and timber producers, will benefit from this change.”
The Forest Service also announced that it will begin a transition to a state-based organizational model from its current regional structure, citing a desire to “shift authority closer to the field by organizing leadership around state-level accountability.” The new model will include 15 state directors across the U.S. who will oversee Forest Service operations within one or more states. Each state office is slated to include a small leadership support team responsible for communication, legislative affairs and intergovernmental coordination.
The Forest Service’s Fire and Aviation Management program will remain largely unchanged under the reorganization, retaining its existing Geographic Area Coordination Center structure. The agency said there will be no interruption to its field-based operational firefighters.
More information about the U.S. Forest Service’s organization realignment can be found here.
