Its senior ranks already thinned by the Trump administration, the Forest Service is facing a new question about its remaining Washington workforce: Should the headquarters staff be moved across the country?
The debate has gained steam in recent days, following a report that Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden revealed to Western lawmakers and others a plan to relocate the service’s leadership to Salt Lake City as part of a broad Agriculture Department reorganization.
The agency would neither confirm nor deny that such a Utah move is being considered, but Vaden’s comments were reported in a forest policy and wildfire podcast called “The Hotshot Wake Up,” and people who’ve spoken with senior agency staff since then said his remarks were news to employees. A spokesperson for the Congressional Western Caucus chair, Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.), said she couldn’t comment on the meeting in Las Vegas, which was closed to reporters.
A Forest Service employee familiar with the reorganization discussions told POLITICO’s E&E News that the agency hadn’t informed staff of any headquarters relocation plan as of Tuesday afternoon, a few days after Vaden’s reported remarks.
