Comment on USDA Reorganization Plan by Aug. 26
On July 24, 2025, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced plans to “reorganize” the USDA. The Departure of Agriculture Reorganization Plan calls for the closure of nine Forest Service Regional Offices and all but a handful of FS Research Stations across the country.
The USDA has already lost more than 16,000 employees since February, including ~3,400 Forest Service employees who were the target of DOGE’s mass layoffs. The FS manages over 193 million acres of national forests & grasslands—or one employee for roughly every 6,100 acres. Rollins’s plan to “consolidate” USFS Regional Offices, which is expected to come with additional staffing and funding cuts, will only further erode the agency’s ability to effectively steward our public lands.
How you can help
The USDA is accepting comments on the reorganization plan through August 26th. You can submit your comment by emailing reorganization@usda.gov. Here are a few pointers to get you started:
- Be sure to mention your comment is in response to Secretary Memorandum: SM 1078-015
- Be specific about the impacts you care about, like on public land stewardship, wildlife species or their habitat, outdoor recreation opportunities, public safety, water quality, etc.
- Share personal experience/knowledge. If you’ve been to a national forest recently and experienced reduced services (overflowing trash cans, trails in disrepair, etc.), describe that experience and how it negatively impacted you or others. If you live near a national forest and are seeing real impacts on the ground, definitely mention that and how it’s affecting you.
- Tell them what you want them to do. Things like:
- Include robust public input from Tribes, local communities, people who recreate on public lands, environmental groups, and other stakeholders before finalizing changes
- Guarantee that the reorganization plan will not result in additional layoffs or loss of field positions essential for land management and recreation
- Preserve local offices that do much of the work connecting people to national forests, trails, and waters
- Make it easier for the public to access public lands and agency staff & services
If you care about forests, clean water, wildlife, or outdoor recreation, submit your comment now by emailing reorganization@usda.gov!