Like if DOGE were actually trying to help the FS with efficiency and technology instead of just blowing shit up, what would they fix first and why?
And for you who drank the poison about this Reorg during the meetings that are thanking the WO for this disaster, we totally see you. Thanks for revealing yourself.
“Are layoffs planned as part of this reorganization?”
“Not at this time. The goal of the reorganization is to streamline leadership structures and move USDA closer to its customers, not reduce the workforce that carries out the Forest
Service mission.”
So…million dollar question, when will they spill the beans and tell us which job series are being targeted for relocation? There’s a ton of RO employees already sitting at field offices, with plenty of space to spare—but I assume many of us will be told to move anyway…The lack of transparency and guidance after 1.5 years is starting to eat at me.
Literally laughed out loud this afternoon when I got an email from the program lead in R6 inquiring about who they can count on now to be the regional point of contact for budget management and issue resolution in R10. As a former program manager who was forced into a downgraded reassignment (in another program, after 23 years of building expertise and kicking ass at my job) I was, of course, fucking livid.
So here they are, acknowledging that the structure they broke is the one they still actually need. All while asking people to do the same complexity work but at a lower grade.
Yet another data point in seeing that the reorg is going to look a lot like the old org. And the arsonists are just now figuring out that these roles are necessary and have value.
At this point, nobody should have any illusions that this is being done in good faith. And for that, we owe them nothing but resistance.
Unless it me on Reddit
This reorganization is for the best. The best for you, me, and the timber industry.
Just go with it.
Has anyone heard anything from the gl 5-7 listing at the beginning of last month for the law enforcement position? I haven’t had a referral/non referral email take this long before and it has me worried lol
As Public Service Recognition Week comes to a close, I want to personally thank each of you for continuing to perform the actual functions of this agency while leadership conducts an exciting live-action experiment in organizational collapse.
It remains the honor of a lifetime to lead an organization whose mission I was briefly introduced to during onboarding. Everywhere I go, I’m impressed by the professionalism, adaptability, and emotional restraint of employees who continue showing up despite receiving communications that read like they were generated by an HR chatbot trapped inside a McKinsey presentation.
When I meet with partners, stakeholders, and elected officials, they consistently express appreciation for your work managing forests, wildfire response, recreation, research, watersheds, and infrastructure. They also quietly ask whether anyone currently steering the agency has ever spent more than six consecutive minutes in a national forest.
As we continue our reorganization, I recognize many employees may be experiencing confusion, concern, or the subtle sensation of watching a beloved institution get sold for parts. Change is difficult. Especially the kind of change created by political appointees whose primary management experience involved forwarding emails marked “high importance.”
That’s why your participation in upcoming working groups is so important. These sessions will provide a valuable opportunity for employees to share insights, expertise, and carefully reasoned concerns that leadership can later ignore with greater efficiency.
I also want to thank those of you continuing to mentor younger employees while simultaneously training your own replacements, covering vacant positions, and pretending morale surveys still matter.
As we enter another busy fire season, please remember that safety remains our top priority, immediately after budget reductions, hiring freezes, travel restrictions, attrition, centralized decision-making, and whatever “operational streamlining” means this week.
And while many of you may feel exhausted watching decades of institutional knowledge leave the building, I encourage you to remain optimistic. According to several consultants earning the GDP of a small county, this is all part of a bold modernization effort designed to increase efficiency by removing most of the people who know how anything works.
Thank you again for your continued service to the American people. Your dedication, competence, and willingness to hold this place together with duct tape and suppressed rage has not gone unnoticed.
From the basement of some building in SLC or Idaho or another location undisclosed,
Chief TS
Editor’s Note: Please continue submitting feedback to the FS-Employee Feedback inbox, where it will be carefully reviewed, categorized, and transformed into a future leadership podcast transcript about resilience.
Chief says everyone has an opinion and OGC said it’s legal… The Forest Service Reorganization Is Illegal
Chief says OGC said it’s legal for reorganization and everyone has an opinion. Chief says Congress was notified however, FSC (NFFE) chimed in and said they were notified at the same time as Congress. Congress and NFFE has a lot of questions and they’re waiting for answers. FSC (NFFE) will be pushing for an injunction to stop the reorganization.
Interesting, Chief is in SLC and his internet connection went out during his opening speech. Anyone in the SLC office have any options with the reorganization.
More to come as Chief dodged questions with Congress and Union demanding answers. Smoke and mirrors
\#NFFE; #Forestservice; #IAM
Near me is Hay Meadow Falls campground and hiking trail. It has a special place in my heart and my older brothers as their father always took them there and taught them how to fish when they were little and my brothers took me there and did the same. My father worked for the forest service in Escanaba and passed when I was 7.
The bridge crossing the stream at the falls that is essential for the hiking loop has been closed and dangerous for almost 10 years. It's just a two log and 2x4 bridge spanning maybe 20-25 feet. I believe it was built by the boy scouts. The bridge is still standing and someone keeps ripping down the boards and fencing blocking it off.
Small town coincidence I ran into someone connected to the USFS in the area and apparently a new (I believe she said metal) bridge is sitting somewhere and has been for years. I was curious what kind of red tape and gov BS it would take to maybe assemble a volunteer team to start fixing the place up.
It's just sad thinking there's a big hunk of something sitting there waiting for it's home while the trail and bridge slowly disintegrate. If nothing's going to happen I'd rather have everything removed and returned to a pristine untouched state. Any insight to how this kind of stuff goes would be greatly appreciated
*Edit: Just scrolled through this subreddit and the irony of me posting this in the middle of the current situation is hilarious (and depressing).
*Edit #2: All my questions have been answered. Thank you to those that reached out and were helpful. I didn't realize this would be so controversial. Just a guy wanting to better his community/forest. For those of you who didn't have anything positive to say shame on you, you're part of the problem.
I work for a research station. I've heard that on forests, many higher-up (district foresters, district bios, rec leads, etc.) folks aren't "officially" supervisors. They pretty much do all the supervision of seasonal staff except for some of the formal paperwork. I've heard that this is the case especially so that these employees can be represented by NFFE. Can anybody who works on a forest chime in? Is this true?
Trying to decide if a supervisory pd is right for me when the chances of hiring seasonal staff are so low, plus I don't want to give up union rep. It doesn't seem like there are many benefits to becoming an official supervisor. Thank you.
Wow. Everyone I worked with before 1039's were eliminated at the end of 2024 seem like different people in 2026. They're stressed out and miserable in their personal and work lives. It feels toxic. Rejoining a formerly supportive, friendly environment only to find out what I thought I was coming back to doesn't exist anymore makes me just want to fend for myself and exit after week one. I'm no one's punching bag. I don't do it to them, and I might be just as miserable and frustrated. No more solidarity. I'm out.
Chief says OGC said it’s legal for reorganization and everyone has an opinion. Chief says Congress was notified however, FSC (NFFE) chimed in and said they were notified at the same time as Congress. Congress and NFFE has a lot of questions and they’re waiting for answers. FSC (NFFE) will be pushing for an injunction to stop the reorganization.
Interesting, Chief is in SLC and his internet connection went out during his opening speech. Anyone in the SLC office have any options with the reorganization.
More to come as Chief dodged questions with Congress and Union demanding answers. Smoke and mirrors
#NFFE; #Forestservice; #IAM
Pay attention to section 8303 and beyond- read it! Conveyance, gutting ESA and NHPA, expanding CEs, reducing fire as a tool, privatizing R&D, new reporting requirements for timber, audit of FACTS fuels treatments and more.