The Forest Service enters the new year with an array of headaches: worsening wildfires, destructive storm damage to Southeast forests and a budget gap so deep that the agency’s stopped hiring seasonal workers to help maintain its 193 million acres of forest.
And if history is a guide, Forest Service Chief Randy Moore will soon hand off those challenges to a successor.
As the second Trump administration prepares to sweep in later this month, the Forest Service faces a transition as well. Groups and lobbyists who follow the agency say the top tasks include fixing the agency’s finances, righting some bureaucratic stumbles and managing forests for wildfire risks. Some former Forest Service employees, as well as lawmakers, suggest a reorganization may be in order.
“The reality is, things aren’t going swimmingly,” said a representative for an outside group that works regularly with the Forest Service, requesting anonymity to speak openly about the agency’s struggles. “It’s a litany of problems.”
