On March 31 the U.S. Forest Service—part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture—announced it will move its headquarters to Salt Lake City, Utah, and begin a sweeping restructuring of the agency to bring leadership closer to the forests and communities it serves. More than 192 million acres in the National Forests the service manages are open to hunting. Relocation is an effort to improve mission delivery for an agency whose lands, partners and operational challenges are overwhelmingly concentrated in the West.
“President Trump has made it a priority to return common sense to the way our government works,” said Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins. “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. 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.”
Alongside the relocation of its headquarters, the Forest Service will begin transitioning to a state-based organizational model designed to shift authority closer to the field. Leadership will be organized around state-level accountability, supported by shared operational service centers and a unified national research enterprise.
“This is about building a Forest Service that is nimble, efficient, effective and closer to the forests and communities it serves,” said Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz. “Effective stewardship and active management are achieved on the ground, where forests and communities are found—not just behind a desk in the capital.”
Under the new model, 15 state directors will be distributed throughout the country to oversee Forest Service operations within one or more states. State directors will serve as national leaders with primary oversight of forest supervisors, operational priorities and relationships with states, tribes, and other partners. Each state office will include a small leadership support team responsible for functions such as legislative affairs, communications and intergovernmental coordination.
“This is a big win for Utah and the West,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said. “Nearly 90 percent of Forest Service lands are west of the Mississippi, so putting leadership closer to the lands they manage just makes sense. This isn’t symbolic. It means better, faster decisions on the ground. Everyone who depends on our public lands, from hikers and campers to ranchers and timber producers, will benefit from this change.”
As the agency transitions to the state-based model, the Forest Service will shift many functions currently housed in regional offices to a network of operational service centers that will be established in Albuquerque, N.M.; Athens, Ga.; Fort Collins, Colo.; Madison, Wisc.; Missoula, Mont.; and Placerville, Calif. Additional service center locations may be added as the transition progresses.
