Sierra Club Statement on Closing of USDA Reorganization Comment Period

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture concludes a comment period on a drastic downsizing of the department that could limit the agency’s ability to fulfill its basic responsibilities.

In July, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the agency would pursue a radical restructuring that would fire or relocate thousands of staff members. The staffing reductions would focus on the department’s Washington, D.C. headquarters and its flagship Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. Relocated staff would be reassigned to five regional hubs located in Fort Collins, Colorado; Kansas City, Missouri; Indianapolis; Salt Lake City; and Raleigh, North Carolina.

The reorganization is the latest move by the Trump administration to hollow out the federal workforce to a skeleton crew. The administration also announced it planned to consolidate the U.S. Forest Service’s nine regional offices, which specialize in their territory’s unique ecology and coordinate with local communities, to a single unit. Additionally, it would eliminate specialized wildfire fighting services into a one-size-fits-all office, and functionally eliminate the Forest Service's regional research efforts.

In response, Alex Craven, Sierra Club’s Forest Campaign Manager, released the following statement:

"Firing thousands of staff, slashing offices that connect to rural communities, and shuttering research facilities isn’t right-sizing – it’s setting the agency up for failure. The Trump administration is now asking hundreds of federal workers in a handful of locations – not one of which is west of the Rockies – to do the jobs of thousands. It’s clear their ultimate goal is to cut our federal agencies, force them into impossible positions, and then privatize their operations. That’s a threat to public lands across the country.”