MAINE MORNING STAR • April 14, 2026
A sweeping reorganization of the U.S. Forest Service signals that the agency is planning to lean heavily on states to manage millions of acres of federal land. State officials and timber industry leaders say they’ve been given scant details about the plan, which will move the agency’s headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City, restructure its regional management, and close scores of research stations in dozens of states. Many forestry veterans fear the shake-up will cause more attrition in an agency that’s already shrunk by nearly 5,900 employees because of Trump’s cuts. Some see a clear sign that moving the headquarters to Utah — a state whose leaders are often hostile to federal land ownership — is designed to undermine the Forest Service’s management of its lands. The closure of 57 research stations will threaten critical science that states and other forest managers rely on. The agency is required to seek congressional approval to relocate offices, which will trigger legal challenges. [There are 47,000 acres of national forest in Maine.]