Forest Service reorg moves HQ to Salt Lake City from DC

The US Forest Service is abandoning its Washington headquarters and dismantling its regional office structure in a sweeping reorganization that agency leadership says will improve forest management, but that employees warn could trigger a mass departure of experienced staff, reports Government Executive.

Around 260 employees will relocate to a new headquarters in Salt Lake City, part of a broader USDA restructuring shifting 2,600 workers from the capital region to five new hubs in Salt Lake City, Fort Collins, Raleigh, Kansas City, and Indianapolis. All nine regional offices will close. The agency will shutter 57 of 77 research stations and retain just 130 employees in Washington.

Employees in regions six, eight, and nine—Portland, Atlanta, and Milwaukee—face mandatory moves, with destinations still undetermined. Staff who refuse reassignment lose their jobs. Individual relocation letters are expected in May or June.

"Reactions range from crying to anger to silence," one midwest employee said.

USFS Chief Tom Schultz promised transparency and relocation assistance for moves exceeding 50 miles, while USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins framed the changes as essential for boosting timber production and taxpayer savings. Tribal leaders and lawmakers pushed back sharply, warning of lost institutional knowledge and weakened treaty relationships.

The reorganization echoes a 2019 Trump-era USDA relocation to Kansas City that resulted in more than half of affected staff quitting and significant productivity losses.

"Most I've talked to will not move," one staffer said. Full relocation is expected to be completed by end of 2026.