U.S. Forest Service headquarters will move from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City, Utah

Almost 90% of  U.S. Forest System land is in
the West. (Western Ag Network photo) 

The U.S. Forest Service headquarters will move from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City, Utah, as part of the Trump Administration's continued efforts to shrink the USDA by closing "research facilities in 31 states and concentrating resources in the West, reports Hannah Schoenbaum and Susan Montoya Bryan of The Associated Press. 

The restructuring will move 260 USFS staff positions to Salt Lake City, while 130 positions will stay in Washington. The move is expected to be completed by summer 2027.

Agricultural Secretary Brooke Rollins said the relocation will help "bring leaders closer to the landscapes they manage and the people who depend on them," AP reports.

While western states encapsulate "nearly 90% of National Forest System land. . . Utah is only the 11th-ranked state for national forest coverage, with about 14,300 square miles," Schoenbaum writes. In contrast, Idaho has roughly 31,875 to 32,000 square miles of NFS land.

According to Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden, Salt Lake City was chosen for its affordability, access to an international airport, and the state’s family-centric reputation, AP reports. "It’s a Democratic-led capital city in a red state with values rooted in the locally headquartered Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known widely as the Mormon church."

Taylor McKinnon, a director of the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity, expressed concern that the relocation would benefit corporations seeking to mine or drill on public lands.

McKinnon told AP, "National forests belong to all Americans. Our nation’s capital is where federal policy is made and where the Forest Service headquarters belongs.”