1. United States
2. Ore.
3. Letter

The U.S. Forest Service announced last week that it will be closing all nine of its Regional Offices and establishing a second headquarters in Salt Lake City, UT. While affected employees, partners, and the public are still grappling with the implications of Secretary Rollins’ decision to close all of the Regional Offices and transition to a ‘state-based’ model, neither the USDA nor the Fores Service has presented any kind of detailed analysis or supporting information showing how the existing organizational structure, which has been in place for over 120 years, is failing to meet the mission of the Forest Service or the needs of the American people. It is also unclear how the new proposed structure will meet any of the as-yet-unidentified shortcomings of the existing structure. While many established business schools offer coursework or specialization in corporate restructuring and organizational leadership as part of their MBA programs, it does not appear that anyone involved in this effort has even gone to Barnes and Noble and picked up a book on the subject. Agency leadership has failed to produce quantitative information on the efficiencies expected to be gained in exchange for this massive and costly disruption, despite the fact that a simple internet search will turn up hundreds of well-qualified consulting firms that specialize in corporate and organizational restructuring. This amounts to decimating agency culture and institutional knowledge while ruining the lives and careers of thousands of dedicated federal workers to the tune of millions of taxpayer dollars within a completely arbitrary timeframe, merely to satisfy the whims and caprices of the current Secretary of Agriculture. This effort constitutes a waste of taxpayer dollars, an abuse of authority, and an abuse of the remaining public servants whose personal passions and commitments compel them to remain with the agency, despite the open contempt and hostility of the current administration. I humbly urge you to compel the USDA and Forest Service leadership to delay the reorganization effort until a thorough analysis can be conducted by qualified professionals and the results can be shared with the public. We cannot run the largest land management agency in the world on hand-waving and vague statements about efficiency. The American people deserve to know how their tax dollars are being spent. Thank you so much for your consideration.