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Lawmakers press Forest Service chief on lab closures, research funding and halted Conservation Corps placements
Summary
Members warned that planned research consolidations, staff departures and new grant terms are halting Conservation Corps placements and shrinking place‑based science capacity; Chief Schultz said leases and deferred maintenance are driving facility decisions and that OMB and USDA are reviewing volunteer-match rules.
Several lawmakers told the subcommittee they were alarmed at proposals to consolidate Forest Service research facilities and at personnel changes they say could hollow out place‑based science.
Representative Susie Lee (question recognition recorded in the hearing) asked why the Reno Great Basin Ecology Laboratory would be consolidated into a Fort Collins hub and how that squares with the agency’s claim of bringing decisionmaking “closer to the forest and communities it serves.” Chief Schultz replied: “We have not made any determinations to close any offices. We’re evaluating offices — this is a facility and a building issue,” and said the agency faces a multi‑billion dollar deferred maintenance backlog.
Members also raised that a Forest Service guidance manual on volunteer labor valuation — which one lawmaker said bore Chief Schultz’s approval — is now being questioned, and that more than 1,000 Conservation Corps members nationwide have been prevented from working because volunteer labor is not being accepted as an in‑kind match. In response, Schultz said the agency is reviewing prior practice with USDA and OMB, and that the manual’s methodology is under evaluation.
Democrats expressed alarm over proposed reductions in research staffing and the relocation of the Pacific Northwest Research Station to Fort Collins. Chief Schultz characterized some departures as voluntary separations and said the agency had about 30,000 employees overall; he also pledged to continue outreach with states, tribes and universities to sustain research partnerships.
Members asked for clearer, named commitments and for written details on which specific labs or staff would be affected. The committee left the record open and requested the Forest Service provide those clarifications in writing.
