Forest Service Offers Separation Incentives Ahead of HQ Move to Salt Lake City

The Forest Service is offering Voluntary Early Retirement Authority and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments to employees impacted by a broad reorganization that relocates the agency’s headquarters to Salt Lake City, shutters nine regional offices, and preserves only select research facilities. About 500 staff may need to relocate, with thousands of employees affected by the relocation and research-center closures. The agency says frontline mission work will continue, but budget and staffing shifts — including potential reductions in research positions and a large facility maintenance backlog — accompany the plan, which has drawn concerns from lawmakers and unions about broader workforce impacts.