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Bullet policy, statements · Aug 06, 2025

AIBS & OBFS Write to USDA, Congress About Maintaining Support for USFS Experimental Forests and Ranges

AIBS joined member society Organization of Biological Field Stations (OBFS) in sending a letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Chief Tom Schultz, and leaders of the House and Senate agriculture committees expressing strong support for the USFS Experimental Forests and Ranges (EFRs) – 84 critical research and product management sites administered by the USFS Research Stations.

The letter seeks clarity on how USDA’s reorganization plan, outlined in the July 24, 2025 Secretary Memorandum (SM 1078-015), would impact the EFRs. The memo states that the “current stand-alone Research Stations will be consolidated into a single location in Fort Collins, Colorado,” but does not specify plans for the EFRs.

“The EFRs have long been one of the American customer’s closest connections to the USDA’s vital research programs,” the letter argues. “As 84 place-based programs across the country, producing great and positive impact in American backyards, the EFRs actively and effectively serve the four key pillars you identify in your Memorandum. The USFS’ Fire Sciences Lab and Forest Products Lab, both identified to be retained for their essential service in your Memorandum, are directly informed by and leverage the EFRs. Thus, maintaining the 84 EFRs across the Nation is valuable to the American people and mission-aligned with the USDA’s future.”

Read the letter sent to USDA. A similar letter to Congress urged lawmakers to work with the Administration to ensure that support for EFRs is not lost under the USDA’s reorganization plan.


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