Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) is demanding answers from the Department of Agriculture on the recent reorganization of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), which they argue will hamper the organization's effectiveness.
In March, USFS announced that it would relocate its main headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Salt Lake City, Utah, shut down 57 of its 77 research facilities, and shutter all nine of its regional offices.
The intended goal is not to reduce the number of staff, says Forest Chief Tom Schultz, but to "find other roles and responsibilities, different reporting structures, but it is to ultimately move more resources to forests and districts where the work is being done on a daily basis."
However, Sen. Kelly argues in his letter that "it is unclear how the announced reorganization will improve the USFS's ability to deliver on its statutory responsibilities, including mitigating wildfire risk, executing forest and watershed restoration projects, and increasing trail maintenance."
Additionally, the letter points out that wildfire season is closing in, and with the potential for extreme fires, "the USFS should prioritize preparing for such a wildfire season rather than hastily executing a reorganization that will impact large swaths of its agency."
Sen. Kelly noted that the Forest Service has already lost thousands of employees through deferred resignation programs, and forcing another 6,500 employees to relocate could mean those affected by the reorganization might quit as well.
As a result, the Arizona Senator wants answers to several questions, including whether the Department of Agriculture has analyzed the potential impact of the reorganization, a timeline for how the reforms will be implemented, and the criteria used to determine which research facilities are being shuttered.
"The USFS serves a key role in supporting local economies, stewarding natural resources, and performing world-class research," Kelly concluded. "The workforce reductions over the last year have already diminished the USFS's ability to deliver its mission, and the recently announced USFS reorganization could further exacerbate those losses
