In late March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a plan to reorganize the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). The proposal would shut down research labs, break the Forest Service into a disjointed state‑by‑state system, and move its headquarters to Utah — far away from Congressional oversight and other science-based agencies it’s supposed to work with.
If this plan moves forward, it will be devastating to rural communities and landscapes. It will eliminate good, stable federal union jobs in forests and grasslands across the country, forcing valuable community members and their families to relocate elsewhere. And it will weaken the science that guides forest management. Instead of decisions based on sound research and long‑term stewardship, the Forest Service could become victim to the forces of state politics and industry pressure. That risks understaffed forests and weaker protections.
Here in Minnesota, we would feel the impact directly. U.S. Forest Service scientists at the Marcell Experimental Forest in the Chippewa National Forest, working from a USFS research lab near Grand Rapids, do internationally important work. Their research helps protect our water from toxic pollution, deepens understanding of the impacts of climate change on wetlands and forests, and supports rural economies that depend on healthy, renewable natural resources and rational agency decision-making. The lab itself and the union staff that work there every day contribute a large amount of economic activity and job training opportunities for the Grand Rapids and Northern Minnesota economies.
Only Congress has the power to stop this plan. Speaking up now matters. By contacting your members of Congress, you can help protect U.S. Forest Service workers, defend science‑based forest management, and ensure our national forests stay healthy for generations to come.
