Trump Administration Orders Dismantling of the U.S. Forest Service
5 hours ago
- #environmental policy
- #public lands
- #U.S. Forest Service
- Trump administration orders dismantling of the U.S. Forest Service headquarters and relocation to Salt Lake City, Utah, a hub of anti-public-lands movement.
- All ten regional offices are being closed, and over fifty research facilities across 31 states are being destroyed, eliminating decades of scientific expertise.
- The move forces career professionals to relocate, leading to mass attrition, similar to previous BLM relocation where 87% of Washington-based staff left.
- Utah's political landscape, including lawsuits to seize federal lands and Governor Spencer Cox's partnership with the Forest Service, aligns with the relocation's goals.
- Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz, a former logging executive, invokes Roosevelt and Pinchot's legacy while dismantling the agency they built to protect forests.
- Research consolidation in Fort Collins, Colorado, ends long-term ecological studies, removing scientific oversight for logging, mining, and environmental impacts.
- The administration's playbook involves starving agencies, engineering dysfunction, reorganizing for political compliance, and paving the way for land transfer to states.
- Coordinated attacks on federal land stewardship include dismantling NEPA, the Endangered Species Act, and installing industry allies in key positions.
- The article urges immediate action: calling senators and representatives to block funding, raising awareness, and mobilizing conservation groups to prevent the Forest Service's destruction.