That Forest Service Reorganization

I know everything is on fire right now and it’s hard to keep track on what is the biggest pile of shit but this one has the potential to have massive implications for trail runners and is worth keeping a close eye on.

Here’s the official announcement from the National Forest Service:

As part of the USDA reorganization plan, the Forest Service is realigning its organizational structure to strengthen local leadership, streamline operations, and improve mission delivery. The changes include moving headquarters to Salt Lake City, transitioning to a state-based leadership model, building a network of Operations Service Centers, and unifying the agency’s research program.

People who know more than me, folks at Patagonia have this to say about it:

Moving the USFS to Utah will gut the agency. By shutting down its research stations, culling its staff, and moving the headquarters to Salt Lake City, it will be surprising if USFS can effectively manage anything at all.

The only beneficiaries of the move and other rollbacks to public land policy from this past year are billionaires and extractive industries.

Runners for Public Lands has a good summary of what this all means for trail runners:

For runners, this is not happening in isolation. It comes alongside USDA’s final rule on how it implements the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when conducting environmental reviews of projects on Forest Service and other lands, the proposed rescission of the 25-year-old Roadless Rule, and a push to significantly expand timber production across national forests. Together, these moves suggest a Forest Service less focused on stewardship, recreation, science, and public participation—and one more focused on speed, shorter (and less robust) environmental review, and resource extraction.

The website SaveUSFS.org puts it this way:

Trump just ordered the most devastating dismantling of the US Forest Service in 121 years. The outdoor brands that built their entire business on public lands haven’t said a word. It’s time to change that.

It’s just all so exhausting, and this is exactly the goal. But this one could have a huge impact for our sport and it behooves us to watch the development around it closely.