On April 10, 2026, the Trump administration implemented a sweeping restructuring of the US Forest Service that eliminated all regional offices responsible for managing 193 million acres of public land—an area roughly equivalent to the size of Texas. The reorganization forced Forest Service employees to choose between relocating to newly consolidated central offices or resigning from their positions. While the specific executive order number was not disclosed in initial reporting, the action represents a fundamental reorganization of the agency's management structure, implemented through administrative directive rather than legislative action.

The immediate effects fall heavily on Forest Service workers and the communities where regional offices operate. Approximately 2,000 to 3,000 employees face relocation mandates or job loss, according to union estimates. The closure of geographically distributed offices that have coordinated land management, fire suppression, and environmental stewardship at the regional level creates operational gaps in agencies responsible for protecting watersheds, managing wildlife habitat, and preventing catastrophic wildfires across the West and throughout the country.

This restructuring accelerates a broader pattern within the Trump administration's environmental agenda. It follows the EPA's elimination of regulatory departments and termination of scientist positions under Lee Zeldin's leadership, the administration's decision to pay offshore wind companies to abandon renewable energy projects, and the recombination of federal agencies that previously separated safety oversight from extraction industry regulation following the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Each action systematically reduces institutional capacity for environmental oversight and protection while consolidating decision-making authority. The mining operation approval in Minnesota's wilderness area and invocation of the Defense Production Act for fossil fuel acceleration demonstrate the administration's coordinated approach to prioritizing extraction and production over conservation.

Union leaders have labeled the reorganization "illegal," arguing it violates consultation requirements and circumvents standard administrative procedures. Legal challenges appear likely, though the administration may argue reorganizational authority falls within executive prerogative. Reversal would require either executive action by a future administration or congressional legislation reinstating regional office structures and restoring employee positions.