The U.S. Forest Service has announced the closure of 23 research stations, marking a significant contraction in the agency's scientific infrastructure across the nation's national forests. The closures come after the agency reviewed 64 sites earlier this year and determined that the 23 locations had few or no remaining staff members, making them unsustainable to maintain. The move is part of a broader reorganization effort that has drawn scrutiny from researchers and conservation advocates who warn that losing long-term monitoring sites could create critical gaps in data on forest health, biodiversity, and climate impacts. The decision reflects ongoing budget pressures and staffing challenges that have strained federal land management agencies in recent years.
The Forest Service is closing 23 research sites that it described as having few to no staffers as part of a broader reorganization, it announced Thursday. Earlier this year, the agency that manages the nation’s national forests said it would shutter the facilities after reviewing a total of 64 of them. It said that the...
