1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

The proposed overhaul of the United States Forest Service is not reform. It is a wholesale dismantling of the systems that keep forest management grounded in science, accountability, and public interest. Eliminating research capacity, closing offices, centralizing decision making, and weakening environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act are not isolated changes. Together, they strip out the data, oversight, and local knowledge that responsible management depends on. In a fire-prone region like ours, this is not abstract. Forest Service research informs how fuels are treated, how prescribed fire is used, and how forests respond to drought and extreme conditions. Removing that foundation while simultaneously reducing ecological protections and public input does not make management more efficient. It makes it more error-prone, less transparent, and more likely to fail. Closing local offices distances decision makers from the landscapes and communities affected. Weakening environmental review removes the guardrails that prevent short-sighted actions from causing long-term damage. Taken together, these changes prioritize speed and extraction over durability and safety. We are already dealing with larger, more destructive fires and stressed ecosystems. This is the wrong direction at the worst possible time. Oppose this reorganization in full, including cuts to research, closure of offices, and any effort to weaken environmental protections or public oversight.