The US Forest Service has announced the closing of 23 research and development stations in more than a dozen states as part of an organizational overhaul under President Trump. Administration officials said Thursday the move is intended to trim costs and concentrate the agency's resources in Western states. The work being done at the research stations will continue at other sites, Forest Service Associate Chief Chris French told the AP. An additional 41 research facilities that faced closure will remain open after local officials and members of Congress raised concerns about the reorganization, which was announced in March.
"Our primary goal was to get our facilities costs under control," French said. "We're not closing any ongoing science activities. We're not closing any of the experimental forests that are important to our researchers." Research by Forest Service employees includes topics as diverse as studies on invasive species, protecting water resources, and how wildfires are changing as climate change dries out and heats up forests. Bill Avey of the National Associated of Forest Service Retirees, an advocacy group, said the Forest Service has long struggled to pay for all its facilities and some opportunities for consolidation exist. But Avey, who worked at the service for four decades, said its current leaders including Chief Tom Schultz need to defend the importance of forest research more vocally.
"He should be doing a much better job of pushing back and justifying and explaining some of the research work," Avey said. He added that the 41 facilities being retained likely would have closed as well if not for pushback from his group and others. The 95 employees at the research stations slated for closure will be shifted to other sites within their commuting areas, the agency said. The closures—along with previously announced plans to shut regional offices in Atlanta, Milwaukee, and Portland—will save about $16 million, officials said.
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