Senators Amy Klobuchar, Martin Heinrich, and Jeff Merkley led a group of 32 colleagues in raising concerns on Apr. 22 about the recently announced reorganization of the U.S. Forest Service under the Department of Agriculture.
The senators said the changes could result in further workforce reductions and harm the agency's ability to carry out its mission, especially after recent staff cuts. They questioned how the reorganization would improve operations such as wildfire mitigation and forest management during what may be an active fire season.
"We write with strong concerns regarding the announced reorganization of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS)," Klobuchar, Heinrich, Merkley, and their colleagues wrote. "While we have expressed support for improving the operations of the USFS, we believe the reorganization announced on March 31, 2026, may lead to additional capacity and workforce reductions throughout the agency, harming its ability to deliver on its mission." The senators added: "After deep cuts over the previous year, a 2025 survey by the Partnership for Public Service found that USFS was significantly worse at fulfilling stakeholder needs and providing quality service than a year earlier. In addition, sweeping changes being proposed – potentially impacting more than 6,500 employees – combined with thousands already lost through deferred resignation programs threatens to further erode agency’s ability to complete its mission."
The letter also raised issues about potential impacts on research activities due to planned closures of research facilities and possible elimination of funding for key functions under future budgets. The senators asked for detailed responses from Deputy Secretary Vaden by May 1 regarding how decisions were made about relocations and closures as well as plans for communicating these changes within USFS.
The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee plays a central role in overseeing forestry policy in Congress; it operates as a standing committee affiliated with the U.S. Senate according to its official website. The committee manages legislation related to agriculture, nutrition programs like food security initiatives both domestically and internationally according to its official website, includes members from both parties according to its official website, has influenced major policies since at least the 1930s according to its official website, compares agriculture's importance alongside commerce and manufacturing according to its official website, and was first proposed by Senator William Findlay according to its official website.
The senators concluded their letter by saying: "The workforce reductions over last year have already diminished USFS’s ability...and recently announced USFS reorganization could further exacerbate those losses. We look forward to your timely response on this important matter."
