09.02.25

Huffman Raises Alarm Over USDA Plan to Gut Forest Service Research and Regional Offices

Washington, D.C. – Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins raising serious concerns about the Department’s July 24, 2025 proposal to reorganize the U.S. Forest Service by phasing out its nine Regional Offices and consolidating its stand-alone Research Stations into a single location in Fort Collins, Colorado.

“I support efforts to modernize the Forest Service so it better serves the American people and can address the climate and wildfire crises, but I question whether this proposal will achieve its purported goal of moving the agencies closer to its customer, particularly if USDA moves the current Forest Service regional offices and research stations away from communities, National Forests, and researchers,” Huffman wrote.

He noted the plan comes “in a year when the Forest Service has already lost a drove of valuable expertise; roughly 3,400 probationary employees at the Forest Service were fired in February and it has been reported that as many as 3,000 red card employees have been lost since January 2025.” Huffman also criticized USDA for announcing the plan without input from Congress, unions, or partners, and for failing to explain how staff relocations, lab closures, or headquarters operations would be managed.

“Research lies at the heart of the Forest Service and has since the agency’s establishment,” Huffman wrote. “I have deep concerns that the proposed reorganization will result in a massive research backlog and lead to key research projects ending due to budget cuts, lack of staff, and lack of access to samples, data, and on-the-ground knowledge.” He emphasized that cutting off local research would deprive communities of the science needed to prepare for wildfire, restore ecosystems, and support local economies.

Huffman urged USDA to reverse course and “reconsider consolidating the Forest Service’s research stations and to keep the Regional Offices open.”

Read the full letter here.

 

###

Press Contact

Mary Hurrell
(202) 225-5187