Forest Service HQ Move 2026: What You Need to Know

Last Updated: April 5, 2026 Reading Time: 9 min

On March 31, 2026, USDA announced it is moving Forest Service headquarters from Washington to Salt Lake City, closing all nine regional offices, and shutting down 57 of its 77 research stations. The Reddit thread "Adios Forest Service" picked up over 1,600 upvotes within days.

This guide skips the press release framing and focuses on what actually matters: who has to move, what happens if you say no, and what money you may be owed.

Key Takeaways

• Forest Service HQ is moving to Salt Lake City. About 260 employees will shift to Utah. Around 130 will stay in Washington.
• All nine regional offices are closing. Three facilities shut down entirely (Portland, Atlanta, Milwaukee), requiring employees to relocate. The other six are converting to hubs or state offices, and most staff there will not have to move.
• 57 of 77 research stations are closing across 31 states, affecting up to 1,500 scientists.
• Declining an out-of-commuting-area relocation = involuntary separation. That unlocks severance pay eligibility and potentially Discontinued Service Retirement.
• The BLM precedent is not reassuring. In 2019, only 41 of 328 BLM employees relocated when headquarters moved to Grand Junction. The rest retired or left.
• Union bargaining is still coming. The NFFE-FSC has the right to bargain over how this reorganization affects its members before it is implemented.

What is actually happening

USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the reorganization on March 31, 2026, framing it as moving leadership "closer to the forests and communities the agency serves."

Here is what it actually means on the ground:

The headquarters is moving from Washington to Salt Lake City. About 260 positions shift to Utah. Another 130 stay in Washington.

All nine regional offices are being eliminated. Three of the facilities are closing entirely: Portland (Region 6), Atlanta (Region 8), and Milwaukee (Region 9). Employees at those three locations must relocate to new hub cities or separate from the agency. The other six regional office locations are being repurposed as state offices or operational hubs. Most staff at those six locations will not be required to move.

The six new hub cities are Albuquerque, New Mexico; Athens, Georgia; Fort Collins, Colorado; Madison, Wisconsin; Missoula, Montana; and Placerville, California.

The regional structure is being replaced by 15 state directors who will oversee Forest Service operations within one or more states.

57 of 77 research and development stations will close across 31 states. Research consolidates under a single national enterprise based in Fort Collins. The agency employs roughly 1,500 researchers. How many of those positions survive has not been specified.

States with confirmed station closures include Oregon (Pacific Northwest Research Station in Portland), Michigan (four facilities, including East Lansing and Ely), and Minnesota (Ely and Grand Rapids). Twenty stations will remain open nationally.

Timeline and deadlines

The agency has not published a single firm deadline for all employees. Here is what is known:

Event	Timeline
HQ move to Salt Lake City	Summer 2026 through 2027
Regional office closures	Next year (fully phased)
Portland regional office and research station	Up to two years
Bargaining with unions	"Coming months" (per agency announcement)
Individual employee notifications	Ongoing; contact your supervisor or HR

The agency has said employees will receive information on timelines, options, and relocation resources. As of early April 2026, that detail has not reached most affected employees.

If your position is being relocated, your HR office should issue a formal reassignment notice. That notice is the document that starts your clock for decision-making and any appeal rights.

Relocation rights: inside vs. outside your commuting area

The most important distinction for Forest Service employees right now is whether your position is being moved inside or outside your commuting area. That legal line determines your options.

Within your commuting area:

• You must accept the new duty station or potentially face removal.
• Declining within-commuting-area reassignments generally does not qualify you for severance pay.
• You can still appeal a removal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) if the agency cannot demonstrate a legitimate management basis.

Outside your commuting area:

• You are not required to relocate.
• If you decline, the agency must separate you, and that separation is treated as involuntary.
• Involuntary separation from an outside-commuting-area reassignment makes you eligible for severance pay (if you are not retirement-eligible).
• If you meet the age and service thresholds, you may qualify for Discontinued Service Retirement (DSR) instead.
• If you accept, you are entitled to relocation assistance under the Federal Travel Regulations.

For the three shuttered facilities (Portland, Atlanta, Milwaukee), employees have been told they will be placed in Utah, Colorado, or New Mexico. None of those destinations are inside a Portland, Atlanta, or Milwaukee commuting area. That distinction is the one that unlocks severance eligibility if you say no.

For employees at the other six regional offices being repurposed rather than closed, the question is whether your specific position is moving and how far.

One practical note: The agency said relocation assistance will be provided to all employees required to move more than 50 miles. Get that offer in writing before you agree to anything.

If you decline to relocate

Refusing a relocation outside your commuting area is not the same as quitting. You do not lose your federal employment protections by saying no.

Do not resign. This is the most important thing in this section. Never voluntarily resign when your position is being moved involuntarily. Resigning forfeits severance pay and most appeal rights. If you decide not to relocate, let the agency issue the separation action. There is a meaningful legal difference between "I quit" and "I declined the reassignment."

Once you decline, the agency will issue a separation action documented as an involuntary separation. That status is what opens severance eligibility.

If you are not eligible for an immediate FERS annuity, you may receive severance pay under the standard formula:

• Years 1 through 10: 1 week of basic pay per year
• Years 11 and above: 2 weeks of basic pay per year
• Partial year: 25% of weekly rate per full quarter
• Age adjustment: 2.5% of total basic severance for each full quarter you are over age 40

Use the Severance Pay Calculator to run your specific numbers.

If you are FERS-covered and meet the retirement thresholds (age 50 with 20 years of creditable service, or any age with 25 years), you may qualify for Discontinued Service Retirement (DSR) instead of severance. DSR gives you an immediate pension without any annuity reduction penalty. You cannot collect both DSR and severance pay at the same time.

On health and life insurance: after separation, you get a 31-day free FEHB extension. After that, Temporary Continuation of Coverage (TCC) lets you keep FEHB for up to 18 months at 102% of the full premium. For FEGLI life insurance, you have a 31-day window to convert to an individual policy without a medical exam. That deadline does not move.

VERA and VSIP options for Forest Service employees

Forest Service employees received a VERA window in March 2025. The application period ran March 10 through March 25, 2025, with retirements effective by May 31, 2025. That window was not paired with a VSIP (cash buyout).

Whether another window opens depends on voluntary attrition over the coming months. Agencies often use VERA and VSIP to reduce how many positions require a formal RIF action. If voluntary departures fall short of targets, additional windows are likely before RIF notices go out.

Standard VERA eligibility under FERS:

• Age 50 with at least 20 years of creditable federal service, or
• Any age with at least 25 years

The main advantage of VERA is that there is no annuity reduction penalty. The MRA+10 retirement option cuts your pension by 5% for each year you are under 62. VERA does not.

The VSIP cap at USDA is $25,000. USDA is not a DoD agency, so the $40,000 DoD cap does not apply. After taxes, expect roughly $17,000 to $19,000 depending on your bracket.

One repayment rule that catches people off guard: if you accept a VSIP and return to any federal employment within 5 years, you repay the full gross amount, not the after-tax amount you received. It applies at other agencies too, not just USDA.

Use the VERA/VSIP Decision Calculator to compare leaving voluntarily now versus staying through the reorganization.

Severance pay: what you may be owed

If you are not retirement-eligible and you are involuntarily separated through a relocation refusal or a RIF, here is how severance is calculated:

• 1 week of basic pay for each of your first 10 years of federal service
• 2 weeks of basic pay for each year beyond 10
• Partial year: 25% of the weekly rate per full quarter worked past your last anniversary
• Age factor: 2.5% additional for each quarter you are over age 40, applied to the total
• Cap: one year of basic pay

You are not eligible for severance if you are eligible for an immediate annuity (VERA, DSR, or regular retirement), if you resign voluntarily, or if you accept the relocation.

Run your numbers with the Severance Pay Calculator before your HR conversation. Know your number before they give you theirs.

Union grievance rights

The National Federation of Federal Employees, Forest Service Council (NFFE-FSC) is the primary union for Forest Service employees.

The union cannot block the reorganization. Management has the legal right to reorganize and relocate functions. What the NFFE-FSC can do is force the agency to bargain over how the reorganization affects bargaining unit members before those changes go into effect. Per the NFFE-FSC Master Agreement, the agency must negotiate over impact and implementation. The agency's own announcement said "bargaining with unions will take place in the coming months," which is an acknowledgment of that obligation.

Bargaining will not stop the move, but it can produce more realistic timelines, stronger relocation packages, and clearer procedures for employees who want to appeal assignment decisions.

If you are in a bargaining unit and the agency skips proper procedures during your reassignment or separation, you can file a grievance under the Master Agreement. You can also contact an MSPB attorney if you believe a removal was not based on legitimate management reasons.

Steps to take as soon as you receive a formal notice:

1. Contact your local NFFE lodge or steward before signing or responding to anything.
2. Do not sign any relocation offer or separation document without understanding what rights you are giving up.
3. Get all communications about your position status in writing.
4. Check whether an EEO complaint is warranted if the reassignment follows any protected activity or appears to target a protected class.

What the BLM move tells us

This is not the first time. In 2019, the Trump administration moved Bureau of Land Management headquarters from Washington to Grand Junction, Colorado.

Of 328 BLM positions slated to relocate, 287 employees retired or found other jobs rather than move. Only 41 people actually relocated. That is an 87% departure rate.

A subsequent GAO report found the move increased BLM vacancies by 169%, delayed policy guidance, and hurt the agency's ability to comment on proposed rules. Diversity at headquarters fell by more than half. The Biden administration reversed the decision in 2021 and moved headquarters back to Washington.

The Forest Service employs around 28,000 people. If headquarters and regional office attrition follows the BLM pattern even loosely, the agency will lose a significant share of its institutional knowledge at the same time it is shutting down 57 research stations. That is a lot of wildfire season expertise walking out the door at once.

USDA said in its announcement that the agency is "learning from past reorganizations," citing Kansas City as a reference. It did not explain what those lessons were.

What to do now

Start with these seven things:

1. Find out your position's status. Is your office closing, converting to a hub, or staying open? Has your specific position been flagged for relocation? Ask your supervisor and HR. Get the answer in writing.

2. Do not resign. If your position is being moved involuntarily, wait for the formal process. Resigning now forfeits severance eligibility and most appeal rights.

3. Run your numbers before any HR meeting. Three calculators to use:

   • Severance Pay Calculator: what you are owed if you decline to relocate
   • FERS Retirement Calculator: your pension under VERA now versus waiting to your MRA
   • VERA/VSIP Decision Calculator: buyout value versus what you give up in lifetime pension

4. Contact your NFFE lodge before you respond to any formal notice. Your representative can tell you what the agency is required to do under your bargaining agreement and what is currently being negotiated.

5. Update your personal accounts now. Change your TSP account email to a personal address. Download SF-50s and performance records from your eOPF. Save copies of any relocation-related communications. You may lose agency system access quickly after separation.

6. Check CTAP and ICTAP eligibility. If you are facing a RIF or an involuntary separation, you have priority selection rights at your agency (CTAP) and at other federal agencies (ICTAP). Register as soon as you receive a formal RIF notice.

7. Update your LinkedIn. If you are thinking about leaving, a current photo and profile will matter. FedShot produces a professional headshot in about 60 seconds.

Calculate your severance and retirement options

Go into your HR conversation knowing your numbers. These are free and take about two minutes each:

Severance Pay Calculator: Enter your years of service, age, and pay grade. See your severance entitlement under the federal formula.

FERS Retirement Calculator: Compare your pension under VERA now versus waiting to your Minimum Retirement Age.

VERA/VSIP Decision Calculator: Model the one-time buyout against the lifetime pension you would leave behind.

Frequently asked questions

Do Forest Service employees have to relocate?

It depends on your position and where your office is. Employees at the three regional offices that are physically closing (Portland, Atlanta, Milwaukee) face mandatory relocation to new hub cities. Most employees at offices staying open will not be required to move. HQ employees in Washington face reassignment to Salt Lake City or one of the new hub locations.

What happens if I decline to relocate outside my commuting area?

If your position is being relocated outside your commuting area and you decline, the separation is treated as involuntary. That generally qualifies you for severance pay (if you are not retirement-eligible) and potentially Discontinued Service Retirement if you meet age and service thresholds (age 50 with 20 years, or any age with 25 years).

Is the Forest Service offering VERA or VSIP in 2026?

Forest Service received a VERA window in early 2025 with retirements effective by May 31, 2025. A VSIP was not included in that window. As the reorganization unfolds, additional VERA or VSIP windows may open before formal RIF notices are issued. Contact your HR office to check what is currently available.

How many Forest Service employees are affected by the reorganization?

Roughly 260 employees will move to the new Salt Lake City headquarters. An undetermined number of employees at the three shuttered regional offices (Portland, Atlanta, Milwaukee) will face mandatory relocation. Up to 1,500 researchers across 57 closing research stations are also affected. The broader USDA reorganization involves approximately 2,600 employees moving out of the Washington area.

What is the precedent for this kind of relocation?

In 2019, the Trump administration moved Bureau of Land Management headquarters from Washington to Grand Junction, Colorado. Of the 328 positions slated to move, 287 employees retired or found other jobs rather than relocate. Only 41 people actually moved. That mass exit is a major reason many Forest Service employees are skeptical this reorganization will play out as announced.

Can the NFFE union block the reorganization?

No. The union cannot block the reorganization itself. But the NFFE-Forest Service Council (NFFE-FSC) has collective bargaining rights over the impact and implementation. That means the agency must bargain over procedures, timelines, relocation assistance, and employee protections before implementing changes for bargaining unit employees.

Related resources

• Severance Pay Calculator: See exactly what you would receive if separated involuntarily
• FERS Retirement Calculator: Compare pension under VERA now vs. waiting
• VERA/VSIP Decision Calculator: Model the buyout vs. pension trade-off
• MDR vs RIF vs VERA/VSIP Guide (DoD): Parallel guide covering DoD reorganization and the same legal framework
• RIF Survival Guide 2026: Retention standing, bump and retreat rights, MSPB appeals
• VERA & VSIP Guide 2026: Full breakdown of eligibility rules, FEHB impact, and the buyout trade-off
• LinkedIn After Federal Layoff: Job search strategy if you are separated

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Sources:

• USDA Press Release: Forest Service HQ Move to Salt Lake City: Official USDA announcement, March 31, 2026
• Federal News Network: Forest Service HQ Move Coverage: Detailed reporting on employee impact and regional office closures
• Government Executive: Forest Service Regional Office Overhaul: Breakdown of hub structure and timeline
• Forest Service Reorganization Page: Official agency reorganization information
• OPM: Reduction in Force Basics: Commuting area rules, involuntary separation definitions
• OPM: Severance Pay Fact Sheet: Severance formula and eligibility rules
• OPM: Voluntary Early Retirement Authority: VERA eligibility and application process
• CPR News: Only 41 BLM Employees Moved West: BLM Grand Junction precedent data
• GAO Report: BLM Workforce Planning After Relocation: GAO findings on BLM vacancy surge and operational impact