US Forest Service to move headquarters, close offices in broad reorganization

March 31 (Reuters) - The U.S. Forest Service will move its headquarters to Salt Lake City from Washington, close all of its regional offices and eliminate dozens of research facilities as part of a broad restructuring of an agency that manages 193 million acres of federal forestland, the Trump administration said on Tuesday.

• The move will put agency leadership closer to the lands and communities it serves, which are concentrated in the West.

• The USFS will transition to a state-based organizational model with 15 directors responsible for one or more states.

• The agency will establish service centers in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Athens, Georgia; Fort Collins, Colorado; Madison, Wisconsin; Missoula, Montana; and Placerville, California.

• All of the service's 10 regional offices will be closed, though facilities in Juneau, Alaska; Vallejo, California; and Albuquerque will be repurposed for other functions.

• USFS will also close more than 50 research and development facilities in 31 states, while retaining 20 locations. The research organization leadership will be housed in Fort Collins, Colorado.

• The Forest Service is an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

• About 260 jobs in the Washington area will be relocated, while 130 will remain, according to a USDA spokesperson. The headquarters move to Salt Lake City will be completed by summer of 2027.