Trump Administration Attempts To Dispel ‘Myths’ About Forest Service Reorganization

The White House is firing back at criticism of its decision to move the headquarters of the Forest Service from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City.The Department of Agriculture announced the move last month after the Trump administration proposed a reorganization of the 121-year-old agency last July to refocus its core operations on supporting American agriculture, producers, ranching, and forestry.“This is about building a Forest Service that is nimble, efficient, effective and closer to the forests and communities it serves,” the head of the Forest Service, Tom Schultz, said recently. “Effective stewardship and active management are achieved on the ground, where forests and communities are found — not just behind a desk in the capital.”The Wilderness Society, which works to permanently protect millions of acres of wilderness in 44 states, claims the administration’s goal is to dismantle the agency. “Simply put, this reorganization will wreak havoc on the Forest Service management and organization, adding fuel to the unpopular narrative by officials like Senator Mike Lee that public lands should be sold off to private industry,” the group’s conservation campaigns director, Josh Hicks, said in a statement.The reorganization will include the closure of more than 50 research and development facilities. Those operations will be moved to more centralized facilities.“All regional offices are being shut down and the research program destroyed,” liberal podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen claimed in an X post.The administration’s rapid response team responded by calling Mr. Cohen a liar. “It’s a long-overdue restructuring to be more efficient in caring for the lands @forestservice manages.” It also stated that no research programs are being ended by the move.“More lies from these losers,” was the White House response to another post linking to a Hatch magazine article that claimed it was a “devastating attack” on the Forest Service.“Closing some research facilities does NOT mean we’re ending research,” the Department of Agriculture’s deputy secretary, Stephen Vaden, said on X. “These moves do not cut scientists, end research programs, or shrink our nationwide presence. Research continues across the country.”Mr. Vaden said the so-called “closures” are simply relocating small teams into shared facilities to create efficiencies and more scientific collaboration.The Forest Service has set up a webpage it says is designed to dispel myths about the changes. Among the claims that it is refuting is that the reorganization is a step toward transferring federal lands to the states.It also denies the goal is to force employees to quit or leave. “This effort is about moving capacity where it is needed most: in the field. Our forests and districts urgently need additional staffing and decision authority to better serve the public and care for our forests and grasslands.”The Forest Service relocation is similar to a move Mr. Trump carried out during his first term when he ordered the Bureau of Land Management headquarters to move from Washington, D.C., to Grand Junction, Colorado. President Biden quickly moved many of those positions back to Washington when he entered the White House but left some employees at the Colorado office.

Trump Administration Attempts To Dispel ‘Myths’ About Forest Service Reorganization

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