Last week, the U.S. Forest Service announced that it will be closing three-quarters of its research facilities as part of a reorganization. Now, experts are not only worried about the number of scientists who might be leaving the agency, but also about how the disruption could affect the gathering and dissemination of crucial wildfire and climate change data.
The restructuring comes as parts of the U.S. face what is expected to be a catastrophic wildfire season. The most recent wildland fire outlook shows that wildfire activity is already “well above average,” with more than 16,000 wildfires reported this year.
Under the reorganization plan, the Forest Service will close 57 of 77 research facilities, as well as move its headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City, Utah.
It will also close all nine of its regional offices; some states will then get their own offices, but others will be consolidated.
Changes will affect firefighting capabilities
The Forest Service oversees 193 million acres of forests and grasslands across the country. It manages timber harvesting, researches how forests can provide clean air and water to communities, monitors climate impacts over time, and works on wildfire prediction and risk management, among other tasks.
Julian Reyes, chief of staff at the Union of Concerned Scientists and previously a federal government civil servant who worked directly with Forest Service R&D scientists on climate research, says the move doesn’t make any sense, given the wildfire season we’re heading into.
Reyes also fears that some research tools will disappear with this reorganization, like the one that maps which seeds should be planted where, based on whether they’ll survive future climate impacts like precipitation and temperature. Another one is “essentially a menu of options” for decision-makers to look at how to adapt to climate change and new wildfire patterns.
