LEXINGTON, Ky. — A sweeping reorganization of the U.S. Forest Service announced in late March signals the agency plans to lean heavily on states to help manage millions of acres of federal land, according to reporting from the Kentucky Lantern. The restructuring moves the agency’s headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City, closes all nine regional offices, and shuts down 57 research stations across 31 states — including a critical facility at the University of Kentucky dedicated to woodland health. The Forest Health Center, established in 2015 as a partnership between the Forest Service’s Southern Research Station, UK and the Kentucky Division of Forestry, serves as a clearinghouse for scientific research on forest pests and pathogens. The center focuses on threats to Kentucky’s forests, including the emerald ash borer, which infests 105 counties in the state and threatens to cost Kentucky landowners and industries nearly $100 million annually. State officials and timber industry leaders say they have received few details about the plan beyond restructured office maps and closure announcements. Kentucky’s Daniel Boone National Forest, which manages over 708,000 acres across 21 eastern Kentucky counties, falls under the Forest Service’s Southern Region 8 headquarters in Atlanta, which will close under the reorganization. District offices will remain staffed, according to Forest Service officials. While many state leaders welcome deeper partnerships with the Forest Service, they worry the agency lacks the resources to fulfill increased responsibilities. The Forest Service has lost about 16 percent of its workforce — nearly 5,900 employees — under the Trump administration through buyouts, layoffs and early retirements, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General. “If you’re going to lean on us, it might help us to know what that means,” said Washington State Forester George Geissler, echoing concerns from state foresters nationwide about the lack of operational details. Conservation advocates argue the closure of research facilities threatens critical science that forest managers depend on to understand wildfire behavior, timber production, disease management and other issues. The plan, announced March 31, replaces nine regional offices with 15 state directors and establishes operations service centers in Albuquerque, Athens, Fort Collins, Madison, Missoula and Placerville. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz told staff the reorganization aims to move decision-making closer to the forest level and reduce bureaucracy, but some observers note the agency must seek congressional approval to relocate offices, which could trigger legal challenges. Agency partners fear the uncertainty will hamper the Forest Service’s ability to address complex forest health challenges as the nation heads into a dangerous fire season amid record temperatures and drought. A 650-acre wildfire was recently battled in the Daniel Boone National Forest with more than 80 personnel fighting the blaze in McCreary County. This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Kentucky Lantern, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/15/repub/forest-service-shake-up-will-boost-states-role-but-even-supporters-have-concerns/. The post Forest Service shakeup gives states more power, but Kentucky faces research loss appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less