The Forest Service isn’t looking to eliminate research programs, according to agency chief Tom Schultz — except when it is.
That’s the tough-to-articulate position the forest chief is bringing to Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are trying to parse the differences between a Forest Service reorganization that’s happening with or without their approval and a budget proposal slashing research dollars that Congress will almost certainly reject.
“R and D is zeroed out in the budget,” Schultz told the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee at a hearing in April, referring to the Trump administration’s proposal to wipe out forest and rangeland research and development. “That’s different from the reorg plan.”
At issue are two dueling visions of the Forest Service from within.
