U.S. Forest Service

Mike Bader writes, "The Forest Service and the timber industry have effectively lobbied Congress to enact laws based on fire paranoia that cut the public owners of these forests out of the process."

In response to the Trump administration’s recent dismantling of the U.S. Forest Service, a growing number of businesses are joining together to oppose the action.

Missoula knew the Trump administration had its sights on U.S. Forest Service regional offices, but Tuesday’s announcement of the final reorganization went far beyond what was predicted in July.

The headquarters of the U.S. Forest Service will move from Washington, D.C. to Salt Lake City, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday, a move the agency described as a “common-sense approach to improve mission delivery.”

The USFS will design the timber sales and let the state conduct the sales and oversee the projects.

The Northwest Forest Plan has long protected vulnerable species like spotted owls in federal forests along the West Coast.

Local foresters, retired land managers and elected officials are voicing concern about the federal proposal to eliminate the nation's regional Forest Service offices in a sweeping consolidation plan.

Plans to restructure the U.S Department of Agriculture and the branches within it – including U.S. Forest Service – have city and county officials watching and waiting for the potential impacts.

The Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Region Headquarters would be closed and the Pacific Northwest Research Station would be moved to Fort Collins, Colorado.

The loss of life and property, and the damage to natural resources caused by the Big Burn did help save the U.S. Forest Service. Until that time, many detractors in Washington D.C. had called for cancellation of the "experiment." The debate over how best to prevent these summertime natural disasters, however, has continued for more than 100 years, and counting