Federal brief
Forest Service facilities review cites more than $16 million in savings
On September 3, 2026, the U.S. Forest Service said a national facilities review will close 23 lightly staffed sites, keep employees in local commuting areas, and free money for mission work and research.
The Forest Service completed a national review of regional and research facilities. The newsroom release frames the closures as consolidating vacant or underused buildings while keeping staff nearby.
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The U.S. Forest Service has completed its national review of regional offices and research and development facilities, identifying more than $16 million in cost savings through local facility consolidation while minimizing impacts to employees and preserving the agency’s critical work across the country.
The review responds to a significant long-term facilities challenge facing the agency. The Forest Service owns more than 16,000 facilities and holds more than 500 leases and space-occupancy agreements. Half are rated in “poor” condition and deferred maintenance exceeds $3 billion. Currently, a third of agency office space falls below the 60% utilization standard set by the USE IT Act.
“For too long, the Forest Service has carried the burden of underutilized space and buildings that sit partially vacant – square footage that drains resources without advancing the agency’s work,” said Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Vaden . “This review gives us a path to put more of those dollars to work, supporting our employees, our mission and the American people.”
As part of the agency’s broader reorganization effort, the Forest Service undertook a national evaluation of its regional and research facilities to determine where its footprint could be consolidated without disrupting mission delivery or unnecessarily moving employees as the agency begins its transition to a state-based model.
Original release: https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/newsroom/releases/forest-service-completes-national-facilities-review-identifies-more
What to read next: /executive/agency/usfs and /federal.
This is a Notice Nearby publisher-desk Federal brief — a short in-house summary of a public federal filing or agency press release. It is not official agency minutes, not a newspaper story, and not Legal Publication. It does not satisfy a statutory notice requirement.
Source: the official public federal record official record · USFS Newsroom · Sep 3, 2026.
This is a Notice Nearby publisher-desk Federal brief — a short in-house summary of a public federal filing. It is not official agency minutes, not a newspaper story, and not Legal Publication. It does not satisfy a statutory notice requirement.