Action Alert: USDA Reorganization
Maah Daah Hey Trail. Photo by Nora Swenson, June 15th, 2025.
Under the leadership of Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, the USDA announced plans in July to reorganize the agency, including the Forest Service, which will have to “phase out the nine Regional Offices over the next year.”
This move could be catastrophic for the Forest Service. USDA's public comment period ends on Tuesday, September 30th. You can submit your comments by emailing reorganization@usda.gov.
Read the Secretary Memorandum: SM 1078-015
Shannon Straight, BCA Executive Director: “The USDA Reorganization Plan is the Trump Administration's attempt to eliminate science-based research centers and nine regional Forest Service offices via ‘restructuring,’ which is a continuation of earlier moves to cut funding, eliminate and demoralize staff to ultimately justify selling off our Public Lands. We need a strong Forest Service in North Dakota to manage our dwindling Little Missouri National Grassland and Sheyenne Grassland, which are vital to combat climate change, and to maintain outdoor recreation assets such as the Maah Daah Hey Trail and campgrounds that are essential to North Dakota's outdoor recreation economy.”
High Country News: “Rollins’ memo does not explain why the regional offices are being axed, or what will happen to the regional foresters’ positions and their functions, or how the change will affect the agency’s chain of command.”
“The staffing is less now in the Forest Service than it was back in the ‘60s,” former Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth told Mountain Journal. “Look at how many people go to national forests for recreation. The whole fire thing is so much different than when I was a firefighter in the ‘60s. I don’t see how this is going to make it better.”
The Wildlife Society, in their formal comments, raised concerns about “the lack of detail and transparency in the plan, the implications for science-based decision-making and the potential impacts on critical natural resource management functions.”
Missoula Current: “The elimination of regional foresters makes forest supervisors more of a target, adding political pressure to the job.”
We can’t thank you enough for staying engaged during all of this chaos.
Last week, a total of 625,737 comments were submitted to the Federal Register regarding the Roadless Rule.
Over 99% of the comments opposed the Trump administration’s plan to repeal the Roadless Rule.
The threats keep coming, so let’s work together to protect our public lands for future generations.
Submit your comments to the USDA by Tuesday, September 30th by emailing: reorganization@usda.gov