Cheat Sheet

April 2, 2026

US Forest Service To Move to Salt Lake City: On Tuesday, the US Department of Agriculture announced a major restructuring of the US Forest Service (USFS).  According to the plan, the USFS  will move its national headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Salt Lake City, Utah.  USDA leaders framed the move as a “common‑sense” modernization effort intended to improve mission delivery, reduce bureaucracy, and strengthen recruitment by shifting staff and decision‑making authority westward. Approximately two‑thirds of the current DC-based staff will relocate, while one‑third—including the Associate Chief—will remain in DC to support interagency and congressional coordination.

The Forest Service will transition from its long‑standing regional structure to a new state‑based organizational model. Fifteen state directors will oversee operations, forest supervisors, and partnerships within one or more states, supported by small state‑level leadership teams. Many functions previously housed in regional offices will shift to a network of Operations Service Centers located in Albuquerque, Athens, Fort Collins, Madison, Missoula, and Placerville. The agency will also consolidate its research stations into a single national Research and Development organization headquartered in Fort Collins. USDA officials emphasize that frontline work—forest management, wildfire response, restoration, recreation, and partnerships—will continue without interruption

No Changes to Renewable Fuels Standard:  On March 27, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its final rule implementing the Renewable Fuel Standard or RFS, a volumetric liquid fuel mandate that was enacted as part of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007. Because the statutory language in EISA disqualifies fuels derived from virtually any woody biomass, forest landowners and other stakeholders, including the Federation,  have been working to expand eligibility to fuels derived from standing timber on private lands. While EPA sought comment on this aspect of the mandate, the final rule makes no changes to the definition of “renewable biomass.”

This development marks the end of the regulatory channel for securing changes to the RFS. Landowner groups have indicated that they will continue to pursue a legislative fix to the mandate this Congress and have recruited key champions in the House and Senate. However, these champions have signaled recently that any legislation altering the renewable biomass definition in the RFS would need to have protections for pulp and paper manufacturers. We will keep you regularly updated on developments in this space.