The Trump administration’s plan for the most sweeping U.S. Forest Service reorganization in history has been at least temporarily halted by a federal judge who ruled such changes require congressional approval.
U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria filed a written ruling on Tuesday out of the Northern District of California, agreeing to relief sought by labor unions, retirees, counties and environmental advocacy groups that have a presence in Wyoming. The order prevents the Forest Service from closing or eliminating offices or reassigning employees to new locations, which are activities that Chhabria described as “reprogramming” requiring congressional approval.
“[P]reliminary relief is necessary to protect the congressional prerogative, prevent irreparable harm to federal employees, and vindicate the public interest,” Chhabria wrote in his 40-page order.
The federal judge is requiring the U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to notify all employees of the order within two days, and also post it to the Forest Service’s reorganization website. Within seven business days, the Trump administration must file a declaration verifying that they have complied with the order that outlines the steps they’re taking.
The reorganization would have been the largest in Forest Service history. It called for dissolving nine regional offices the agency’s first chief, Gifford Pinchot, created nearly 120 years ago. Instead, there’d be 15 state offices — including a Wyoming office in Cheyenne — and a network of operational service centers. Led by Chief Tom Schultz, Forest Service leadership was in the process of relocating their headquarters in Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City. Additionally, the plan called for closing 23 research and development facilities and consolidating them in a single complex based in Fort Collins.
The Forest Service’s national media team on Wednesday sent a statement in response to WyoFile’s inquiry.
“The Department is reviewing the Judge’s decision and will file its response with the Court,” a USDA spokesman wrote in an email.
Earlier this summer, WyoFile sat down with Schultz, who detailed and defended the reorganization, which he signaled was happening soon.
“Sometimes toward the end of October, early November is when we’d be looking at getting [state] offices operational,” the Forest Service chief said.
Plaintiffs that brought the case include the American Federation of Government Employees and three other union groups that speak for Forest Service employees. Counties on both coasts also signed on, and so did the American Geophysical Union, Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, Natural Resources Defense Council and Western Watersheds Project.
“USDA employees that were surveyed writ large … 90% of the workers facing involuntary translocations would quit instead of move,” Western Watersheds Project Executive Director Erik Molvar told WyoFile. “This is really about getting rid of federal agency personnel, which is bad for the land, bad for the wildlife, and it’s bad for responsible management of our national forests.”
There was strong support for the Forest Service reorganization and state-based model in some circles. The bipartisan Western Governor’s Association, for example, was in favor of the plans. But Molvar perceived some pitfalls for the broader public good.
“Certainly the state of Wyoming would love to meddle in federal land management, and pretend that only the interests of Wyoming residents should matter in federal land management issues,” Molvar said. “But the reality is that the federal lands belong equally to all Americans, and Wyoming locals shouldn’t have any greater or lesser influence on these decisions than members of the public from other states.”
Chhabria’s ruling is available for review below.
