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Forest Service plan to close research stations stokes fear as wildfire season approaches
The agency said the consolidation will unify research priorities and reduce its real-estate footprint as Congress has cut the facilities budget.
- Late last month, the Forest Service announced plans to close 57 of its 77 research stations across 31 states, consolidating operations into a single organization in Fort Collins, Colorado.
- Citing a facilities budget Congress has shrunk, agency leaders framed the closures as reducing the Forest Service's real estate footprint while moving roughly 5,000 employees to new outposts.
- Many foresters fear the closures threaten vital research on fire behavior and smoke dispersal, which supports forest management for state agencies, timber companies, and tribes.
- Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said the move will "better align with the priorities of the administration," while Chandra Rosenthal of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility called the plan "dismantling."
- Washington State Forester George Geissler warned that losing the Seattle station's practical fire management research is risky, despite the Forest Service calling claims of canceled research a "myth.
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Forest Firings: Trump Admin Aims to “Break the Forest Service,” Nearly 200 Million Acres at Stake
The Trump administration in late March announced an extensive reorganization of the Forest Service, the federal agency responsible for managing 193 million acres of public lands across 43 states, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. As part of the changes, 57 of 77 research stations across the country will be shuttered, with the headquarters relocating from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City. While the overhaul is billed as an effort to improve e
·New York, United States
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources14
Leaning Left12Leaning Right1Center0Last UpdatedBias Distribution92% Left
Bias Distribution
- 92% of the sources lean Left
92% Left
L 92%
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