The Trump administration plans to move the headquarters of the U.S. Forest Service to Salt Lake City.
It comes as the U.S. Department of Agriculture says it’ll begin a sweeping restructuring of the agency to move leadership closer to forests and local communities. In a Tuesday press release, the USDA said the move makes sense because the lands it oversees are overwhelmingly located in the West.
"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,” said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
Rollins also said moving the Forest Service’s headquarters will better serve the timber industry, boosting production and lowering consumer costs for lumber and other products.
“In the past year we have returned the Forest Service to the leading forestry and fire management organization in the world,” said Rollins. “Proper forest management means a healthy and productive forest system that provides affordable, quality lumber to build homes right here in America and it means preserving and protecting the beautiful landscapes we are blessed with across this great country."
Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called the move “a big win” for his state.
"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,” Cox said.
Colorado’s Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, also applauded the move.
"Colorado is known for our outdoor spaces and nation-leading research institutions that are strengthening our forests and public lands, so it only makes sense that the U.S. Forest Service would include a location in our great state," he said.
According to the USDA, the Forest Service will transition to a state-based model. It’ll include 15 state directors across the country who will oversee operations in one or more states. Officials say the restructuring is meant to simplify the chain of command and “give field leaders greater ability to respond to conditions on the ground,” according to the USDA.
The agency’s Fire and Aviation Management program, however, will keep its existing geographic structure. Officials say there won’t be any interruption or change to field-based firefighters or their positions.
Some conservationists condemned the Trump administration’s plans to relocate Forest Service headquarters to Salt Lake City.
“This is a costly bureaucratic reshuffle that will hand more power to corporations and states like Utah to log, mine and drill the public’s forests for private profit,” said Taylor McKinnon, the Southwest director for the Center for Biological Diversity. “It punishes career staff by forcing them to move across the country. National forests belong to all Americans. Our nation’s capital is where federal policy is made and where the Forest Service headquarters belongs.”
