The United States Department of Agriculture this week announced the nation’s Forest Service will soon go through massive changes, including the shift of its headquarters across the country.
The agency’s headquarters will move from Washington D.C. to Salt Lake City, Utah, according to a press release sent out on Tuesday. The agency will also close all of its regional offices, transitioning to a state-based organizational model, according to a USDA fact sheet.
The transition would affect 5,000 employees across the country, including the Service’s research stations, which will be consolidated into a single Research and Development organization headquartered in Colorado with multiple facility locations nationwide.
Department Secretary Brooke L. Rollins described the move as a “common sense” shift of the leadership closer to forests and communities. “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.”
“What we’re doing in this reorganization is essentially flattening the organization,” Forest Service Associate Chief Chris French told the Hotshot Wake Up podcast. “This is stuff we heard clearly from governors, a number of other state agencies, federal agencies, state foresters, fire organizations … that when they worked with us, they didn’t want to work with eight different forest services, they wanted to work with one.”
Fire and Aviation Management Deputy Chief Sarah Fisher said on the podcast that the reorganization would not have an impact on the Service’s wildland fire program, saying no changes would be made to the firefighting workforce.
“There should not be expected changes for folks that are working on districts and forests,” Fisher said. “None of this work being done is impactful to the districts and forest facilities, and at this time, there are no intended changes to the locations of the geographic area coordination centers.”
Fisher also said that the reorganization would be in line with how the Department of the Interior plans to structure the U.S. Wildland Fire Service, which currently remains unfunded by Congress.
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Are you a current or previous member of the Forest Service with thoughts on the reorganization? Share your thoughts in the comment section below or privately by emailing editor@wildfiretoday.com.
7 Comments
To clarify, there are roughly 500+ employees in the fire organization who received letters that they will be impacted by the Reorganization. It is likely true that the impact will be minor, such as shifting the supervisory chain of command or Line Authority. A few examples are Missoula smokejumpers who are organized under the Region 1 R.O. and smokejumper pilots at each base, etc… There are Regional Offices which are set to be closed, so at the very minimum there will be employees switching from Ogden to Salt Lake City under the GACC. Hopefully these are all pretty minor changes for most operational firefighters. As firefighters we will be working for a Line Officer at the roughly state level in most of the west that has a small staff that doesn’t include any positions as SMEs in Fire and Fuels. Rather we will be working for SES level employees steeped in Public and Legislative Affairs in state capitals. Hopefully a strong “Headquarters” Fire and Aviation Branch (Formerly W.O. FAM) relationship at the Chief’s Office level will prove effective at influencing FS State Office “Directors” that don’t have close relationships with a Fire Staff type down the hall. It is currently unclear if the FS will continue having the relatively new Deputy Chief of Fire that Sarah Fisher is currently acting in, which appeared to be a step in the right direction creating more Line Authority at the Headquarters level of leadership. The F.S. Chief is currently operating out of a conference room at an Idaho Panhandle National Forest office close to his home, despite many people across the country having their remote work/telework agreements shredded in the name of better working relationships coming from physical proximity. Hopefully only good things will come from these changes. I think it is important that we can all be good followers and leaders by continuing to call a spade a spade in our Safety First work environment despite the political agenda being implemented with prolific non-disclosure agreements bureaucratic press releases. Keep it real and keep looking out for each other!
It’s interesting that the FS chain of command you describe with regard to the involvement of line officers with the fire program appears to be the exact opposite of the way the DOI Wildland Fire Service has been established. It appears that the DOI fire program stands alone, reporting to the Secretary. The working relationship between the WFS and DOI unit managers, such as park superintendents, seems to be unclear. But it’s a work in progress, so details to follow.
As a concerned citizen, I question the wisdom of making such big changes to the Forest Service right at the beginning of fire season!
USDA Fire Service will remain intact. Nothing else matters.
Not sure how any good will come of this, it’s clear what the end goal is (defund and sell our public lands). The uncertainty all this change is creating for land managers is exhausting. I see my career circling the drain while the people in charge keep the agenda cloaked in secrecy. Praying for another DRP like the DOI just dropped. I’m tired of continually limping my program area along while the Forest Service strips us of fleet, budget, personnel and our last shreds of morale. My head ain’t gonna be the same from banging it against the wall
Unbelievable
If anyone really thinks these changes are to enhance the Forest Service mission – think again. The current administration wants more timber cut and the opportunity to sell of public lands. Just take a look at the current “Chiefs” background and you can see what is happening. He recently signed an agreement with the Governor of Utah giving the governor control over 9 mission acres of Federal land. So much for any autonomy if you do not kiss the ring. Sad days are ahead for the Forest Service and sadder ones for the American public.
Donald Trump raised in New York City don’t appear to know anything about Forest land , but his ego won’t let him keep his hands off things he knows nothing about.
He has lost my vote and confidence