A Forest Service reorganization could shutter offices on the leading edge of wildfire prevention research as the nation copes with an already abnormally active season, according to an internal list of office responsibilities obtained by POLITICO.
Twenty of the 57 offices being evaluated for closure are tasked with climate adaptation and wildfire prevention, according to the Forest Service list, which hasn’t been previously disclosed.
The difficulties posed by fires can be seen across much of the country this summer, with wildfire smoke from Canada blanketing the Midwest and, last week, many Eastern states. Fires within the U.S. burned more than 3 million acres through June 30, 157 percent above 10-year averages, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
The Agriculture Department, which houses the Forest Service, said it aims to close underused office space and won’t cut research, instead centralizing work in key hubs and freeing up dollars to spend on firefighting and other expenses. But agency veterans said the closures could end research in living laboratories across the country, moving that work away from national forests. They also warn it could push experienced scientists who do not want to relocate out of the government.
