Stop the Forrest Service Restructuring Threatening Alaska and America

**Stop the Forest Service Restructuring That Threatens Alaska Labs** Oppose the Forest Service's national restructuring that threatens the Anchorage Forestry Sciences Lab and the Pacific Northwest Research Station Lab in Juneau. This reorganization is dismantling critical research capacity in Alaska at the worst possible time. Last year, Alaska's Forest Service workforce was cut by one-third. Now this restructuring forces more uncertainty on remaining staff. They’re unable to tell employees whether their lab will even stay open. Forcing relocations to Fort Collins or Utah will function as an unofficial reduction-in-force when employees who cannot move are pushed to resign. Alaska's national forests need researchers who understand our unique ecosystems, not consolidated operations run from other states. The Chugach and Tongass require specialized expertise that cannot be replicated from thousands of miles away. The Forest Service claims this modernizes operations and eliminates redundancies, but gutting regional capacity while the agency struggles to manage wildfire risk, invasive species, and climate impacts on forests is reckless. Alaska deserves better than having our forestry research treated as expendable in a cost-cutting exercise. Block this restructuring and demand the Forest Service maintain full operations in Juneau and in Anchorage.