Threats to USFS and NPS

The US Forest Service (USFS) and National Park Service (NPS) are facing severe threats from dramatic budget cuts, staffing losses of over 30%, and a policy shift toward energy and resource extraction. As of early 2026, these actions have resulted in the closure of research facilities, reduced emergency responses, and accelerated maintenance backlogs.

Key Threats to USFS and NPS (2025-2026):

• Staffing & Funding Crisis: The Coalition to Protect America’s National Parksreports an unsustainable crisis, with furloughs and layoffs hindering emergency services and visitor safety.
• Resource Extraction Prioritization: Executive orders have pushed for increased drilling, mining, and timber production on public lands. This includes actions affecting Bears Ears and other national monuments.
• Reduced Protection: Policies aim to reduce environmental protections and oversight, opening up to 88 million acres of public land to potential development.
• Research & Management Cuts: The USDA is considering closing multiple regional offices, and the US Forest Service is closing research facilities.
• Maintenance Backlog: Deferred maintenance for the National Park Service has grown to roughly $22.3 billion.

These threats are causing high staff turnover and threatening the long-term stewardship of national forests and parks.

1. Critical Staffing Reductions 

Since early 2025, both agencies have seen a significant loss of personnel, which experts say has pushed them to an “unsustainable” path: 

• National Park Service (NPS): Reports indicate a loss of approximately 25% of permanent staff since January 2025. Personnel levels dropped nearly 16.5% by May 2025 alone, a decline attributed to pressured buyouts, early retirements, and unfilled vacancies.
• U.S. Forest Service (USFS): In early 2025, the agency released roughly 2,000 probationary employees. More recently, in April 2026, the Alt National Park Servicenoted layoffs of another 10% of the workforce.
• Firefighting Shortages: Despite rising wildfire risks, approximately 4,500 Forest Service firefighting positions remained vacant as of late 2025.,

2. Structural Dismantling and Facility Closures

Ongoing reorganization efforts aim to centralize management and reduce the agencies’ regional presence: 

• Regional Office Closures: The administration has proposed closing all nine USFS regional offices—including those in California, Colorado, and Oregon—to shift responsibilities to distant “hubs”.
• Research Facility Cuts: In April 2026, it was announced that 57 of 77 USFS research facilities in 31 states would be closed. This includes shutting down six of the eight research centers in California.
• Resource Management: Efforts are underway to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule, which could open 58 million acres of forest to road building and logging.

3. Operational Impacts

Advocacy groups like the National Parks Conservation Association warn that these cuts directly impact public safety and conservation: 

• Public Safety: Understaffing has led to slower emergency response times and reduced trail maintenance.
• Conservation Research: Specialized programs, such as those monitoring the Northern Spotted Owl, are expected to fail due to a lack of seasonal workers to collect field data.
• Visitor Experience: Visitors have reported overflowing trash, closed facilities, and an increase in illegal activities like unauthorized camping. www.thepostathens.com

4. Extraction and Land Use Threats

New executive orders have directed the Interior Department to review policies to increase fracking, drilling, and mining on public lands. Center for Biological Diversity

• Leasing Rollbacks: Plans include reinstating oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and rolling back protections in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest.
• Ruby Mountains (Nevada): In April 2025, a proposed 20-year ban on oil and gas development was canceled, reopening 264,000 acres for resource extraction. The Wilderness Society +1

What can you do?

Here are the primary methods to fight these changes:

1. Participate in the Official Public Comment Process 

Federal agencies are required to follow the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which includes public comment periods for proposed rules.

• Submit Unique Comments: Use official channels like the NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) site or the Federal Register to submit comments. Unique, personal comments have a greater impact than form letters.
• Track Proposed Actions: Regularly check the “Schedule of Proposed Actions” (SOPA) on your local National Forest website.
• Focus on Substantive Issues: Identify legal deficiencies, incomplete information, or risks to ecological integrity in your comments. National Park Service (.gov) +4

2. Contact Congress and Political Representatives

Congress has the power to stop legislative changes, such as the “Fix Our Forests Act,” which aims to increase logging and limit public input.

• Oppose the “Fix Our Forests Act” (FOFA): Urge Senators to oppose this legislation, which limits public oversight, weakens the Endangered Species Act, and increases logging, according to conservationists.
• Stop Public Land Sales: Voice opposition to proposals aimed at selling off or privatizing public land.
• Support Funding: Advocate for full funding for the National Park Service to prevent staffing shortages and the reduction of vital roles. Cascade Forest Conservancy +3

3. Support and Join Advocacy Organizations

Many organizations work to monitor and oppose changes to USFS/NPS, providing resources to help individuals fight back.

• Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks: Represents retired and former NPS employees fighting understaffing and budget cuts.
• Outdoor Alliance: Monitors threats to public lands, including the Roadless Rule and the Public Lands Rule.
• Cascade Forest Conservancy: Active in opposing deregulation and logging in Pacific Northwest forests.
• Earthjustice: Frequently files lawsuits against illegal agency actions, such as the rescission of the Roadless Rule. National Parks Traveler +4

4. Direct Action and Awareness

• Spread Information: Use social media to raise awareness about the changes, such as the proposed relocation of the USFS headquarters and closure of research sites.
• Stay Informed on Local Impacts: For example, monitor specific threats to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness or the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Key 2026 Issues to Watch

• USFS Reorganization: Oppose the planned move of the USFS headquarters out of Washington D.C. and the closing of regional offices.
• Roadless Rule Defense: Support legal actions defending the Roadless Rule, which keeps millions of acres of forests wild.
• NPS Staffing Realignment: Oppose the reduction of “non-visible” staff (scientists, maintenance) in favor of visitor-facing roles, which critics argue is a form of, and strategy for, downsizing. National Parks Traveler +4

(Above portion of post created with Google AI)

The following was sent to me by a friend who used to work for the NPS and with BLM, so very attended to public lands issues:

They won’t leave anything alone in their scorched earth Project 2025

Trump admin proposing ‘catastrophic’ cuts to the National Park Service

The administration just announced a sweeping restructuring and it’s as bad as it sounds. Headquarters is leaving Washington D.C. for Salt Lake City. All nine regional offices are closing. More than 50 research facilities across 31 states are being eliminated. The regional system the agency has used since its founding in 1907 is gone.

In their place 15 political “state directors,” embedded with the same state officials and industry groups that have long pushed for more logging and fewer protections mirroring the Bureau of Land Management model that public lands advocates have fought for decades.

That puts 193 million acres (the largest public land system in the nation, bigger than Texas) under a structure designed for political access, not scientific stewardship.

Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz framed it as getting “closer to the forests.” What it actually does is gut the career scientists and independent oversight that stood between those forests and the people who want to exploit them.

Scientists won’t relocate en masse. Long-term studies, datasets, and research partnerships built over decades will collapse. Once that expertise walks out the door, it doesn’t come back.

The Forest Service was built by Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot to keep professional, science-based management out of the hands of industry. That vision is being systematically dismantled not with a bang, but with a press release. 193 million acres. Gone from federal protection in all but name.