Proposed US Forest Service Reorganization Brings Uncertainty

The U.S. Forest Service is proposing a major restructuring that would consolidate offices and close 57 of its 77 research stations, including several in Appalachia. The proposal includes moving the agency’s headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City, which critics say will cause many career staff to leave. USFS also plans to close nine federal regional offices and replace them with 15 state-based field offices, mostly in Western states.

Under this proposal, the Southern Appalachia office in Athens, Georgia, would oversee forests in North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia. The states of West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania would join others under the Mid-Atlantic office in Warren, Pennsylvania.

The changes at the Forest Service, which manages 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands, could have major local impacts, especially in regions where public lands are central to outdoor recreation, the economy and water quality.

The restructuring could also change staffing in the region, with some jobs expected to move. Understaffing is already a concern — more than 5,000 Forest Service employees either left or were fired in early 2025.

Research sites in Princeton, West Virginia; Blacksburg, Virginia; and Lexington, Kentucky, are among those announced for closure. In Blacksburg, Virginia Tech houses a coldwater fisheries team and in Lexington, the University of Kentucky is home to the Forest Health Research and Education Center. The Wood Education Resource Center is in Princeton.

Critics warn that reductions to the agency’s 1,500 research scientists or research capacity could weaken the agency’s ability to study climate change, wildfire risk, drought and other forest management challenges.

“The reorganization does not eliminate scientific positions, cancel research programs, or reduce our national research footprint,” said a USDA spokesperson. “In many locations, ‘closure’ refers only to individual buildings currently housing small teams. Staff and programs will continue their work, relocated into fewer facilities while maintaining research presence across the country.”

The spokesperson also emphasized that the proposals are not final.

Timber industry groups like the American Forest Resource Council applaud the overall proposal, saying strong partnerships between the Forest Service and individual states are the best way to manage millions of acres of federal land. But others, like the Society of Outdoor Professionals, argue that shifting more responsibility to states and reducing the federal role could open the door to privatization of public lands, as some states lack the funding, staff and expertise to manage and protect public lands effectively.

A press release from Public Employees for Environmental Ethics stated that, “Rather than streamlining the agency, these moves may render it less capable of addressing growing threats to forest health from wildfires, diseases, and the effects of climate change.”