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(Washington, D.C., March 31, 2026) — Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Service announced it will move its headquarters to Salt Lake City, Utah, and begin a sweeping restructuring of the agency to move leadership closer to the forests and communities it serves.
For an agency whose lands, partners, and operational challenges are overwhelmingly concentrated in the West, the shift represents a structural reset and a common-sense approach to improve mission delivery.
"President Trump has made it a priority to return common sense to the way our government works. Moving the Forest Service closer to the forests we manage is an essential action that will improve our core mission of managing our forests while saving taxpayer dollars and boosting employee recruitment," said Secretary Brooke L. Rollins. "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. This includes supporting our timber growers across the country, including those in the Southeast by prioritizing a regional office and promoting policies that boost timber production, lowering costs for consumers. In the past year we have returned the Forest Service to the leading forestry and fire management organization in the world. Proper forest management means a healthy and productive forest system that provides affordable, quality lumber to build homes right here in America and it means preserving and protecting the beautiful landscapes we are blessed with across this great country."
"Forest Service is an agency focused on the interior of our great nation," said Deputy Secretary Stephen A. Vaden. "Relocating and realigning allows the agency to protect our land and most precious resources. Having recently visited Salt Lake City, I am impressed by the modernized facilities, reasonable cost of living, proximity to an international airport, and more family-focused way of life. This relocation is long overdue, and I am grateful to President Trump for having the courage to do what is right by the American people."
"This is about building a Forest Service that is nimble, efficient, effective and closer to the forests and communities it serves," said Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz. "Effective stewardship and active management are achieved on the ground, where forests and communities are found—not just behind a desk in the capital. Through this transition, we will strengthen our connection to the forests and the people who depend on them, while supporting our employees and honoring the dedication that has always defined our service. I’m honored to help guide this new chapter for the Forest Service, following the vision set forth by President Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot more than a century ago."
"This is a big win for Utah and the West. Nearly 90% of Forest Service lands are west of the Mississippi, so putting leadership closer to the lands they manage just makes sense," said Utah Governor Spencer Cox. "This isn’t symbolic. It means better, faster decisions on the ground. Everyone who depends on our public lands, from hikers and campers to ranchers and timber producers, will benefit from this change. Moving away from a regional model to a more state-focused approach strengthens federalism and helps the Forest Service do its job more effectively. I appreciate President Trump, Secretary Rollins, and Deputy Secretary Vaden for taking this step. We look forward to welcoming Chief Schultz and the dedicated men and women of the Forest Service to Utah."
"Colorado is known for our outdoor spaces and nation-leading research institutions that are strengthening our forests and public lands, so it only makes sense that the U.S. Forest Service would include a location in our great state," said Colorado Governor Jared Polis. "More than a third of Colorado is federal land including world class ski areas like Vail and Breckenridge, and having a closer relationship with our federal partners is important to maintaining those lands and the communities around them."
Alongside the relocation of its headquarters, the Forest Service will begin transitioning to a state-based organizational model designed to shift authority closer to the field by organizing leadership around state-level accountability, supported by shared operational service centers and a unified national research enterprise.
Under the new model, 15 state directors will be distributed throughout the country to oversee Forest Service operations within one or more states. State directors will serve as national leaders with primary oversight of forest supervisors, operational priorities, and relationships with states, tribes, and other partners. Each state office will include a small leadership support team responsible for functions such as legislative affairs, communications, and intergovernmental coordination.
This approach is intended to simplify the chain of command, strengthen local partnerships, and give field leaders greater ability to respond to conditions on the ground.
For a comprehensive list of state offices and their area of responsibility, visit this webpage.
As the agency transitions to the state-based model, the Forest Service will shift many functions currently housed in regional offices to a network of operational service centers that will be established in Albuquerque, NM; Athens, GA; Fort Collins, CO; Madison, WI; Missoula, MT; and Placerville, CA. Additional service center locations may be added as the transition progresses.
Locations were selected based on existing USDA workforce and infrastructure presence, operational needs and efficiency, and proximity to agricultural and natural resource stakeholders.
Together, these centers will provide shared administrative, technical, and enabling support to forests and state offices nationwide, allowing field leadership to focus more directly on actions that improve the health, productivity, and resilience of our nation’s forests.
The Forest Service will also consolidate leadership of its research enterprise. The agency currently operates multiple geographically dispersed research stations, each with its own leadership structure. Under the reorganization, the Forest Service will bring those stations together under a single Forest Service research organization, located in Fort Collins, CO. These changes are designed to unify research priorities, accelerate the application of science to management decisions, and reduce administrative duplication. Information on retained research facilities and research facility closures is available at this webpage.
Under this reorganization, the agency’s Fire and Aviation Management program will retain its existing Geographic Area Coordination Center structure, which remains the backbone of national incident coordination. There will be no interruption or change to our field-based operational firefighters or their positions. The program will continue reporting to the Deputy Chief for Fire and Aviation Management at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. This structure ensures the agency’s ongoing, close coordination with the Department of the Interior and interagency partners. It will reinforce the unified, national approach essential to effective wildland fire response until the Forest Service’s wildland fire management operations are unified into the U.S. Wildland Fire Service (USWFS) within the Department of the Interior (DOI).
The restructuring will also drive a review and consolidation of facilities nationwide. As part of this transition, all regional offices will close; however, several facilities will be retained to support ongoing mission needs. Additional phases of the reorganization, including the formal elimination of regional and station office structures and the full transition to a state-based model, will be implemented over the coming year.
The agency’s retained facilities will support essential functions during and after the transition, with the facility in Juneau, Alaska serving as a state office, the facility in Vallejo, California repurposed as a national training center, and the facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico retained as a business support service center and state office.
The Forest Service will provide employees and partners with detailed transition guidance as different milestones approach. Throughout the transition, the agency emphasizes frontline operations, including active forest management, wildfire response, forest restoration, recreation management, and partnerships with states and communities, will continue uninterrupted.
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