JACKSON, Wyo. — The Teton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) on Tuesday approved the sending of a letter to five government officials detailing concerns about the “dramatic actions” of relocating the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City.
The letter is addressed to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Wyoming Senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming Representative Harriet Hageman and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon. All five commissioners signed the correspondence: BCC Chair Mark Newcomb, Vice-Chair Wes Gardner, and Commissioners Luther Propst, Natalia Macker and Len Carlman. Commissioners also voiced criticism of USFS research station closures and the relocation of Wyoming’s regional office from Ogden, Utah, to Cheyenne.
According to the letter, approximately 51% of land in Teton County is managed by USFS, between the Bridger-Teton National Forest and the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. “Together, by their vast acreage, major economic importance, and wide-ranging cultural impact, these two National Forests have long given Teton County ample reason to be dedicated to responsible partnership and stewardship work with the US Forest Service,” the letter reads.
At Tuesday’s BCC meeting, Carlman noted that only three federal employees relocated to Grand Junction, Colorado, when the Bureau of Land Management’s headquarters was moved there in August 2020. Of 328 employees, 41 chose to relocate, with only three of them winding up in Grand Junction.
“Overhauling an agency by press release is a remarkable strategy,” Carlman said. “Moving the national headquarters away from the nation’s capital seems like it’s generating a lot of plane trips from Salt Lake City to Washington, D.C.”
The letter notes that the stated objective of locating agency staff closer to USFS land does not align with likely outcomes. Commissioners believe many employees will opt not to relocate, and more could leave federal service altogether.
“The result is not improved efficiency,” the letter reads. “It is erosion of institutional capacity and loss of expertise. These actions also impose significant human and operational costs. Repeated displacement of staff and families tied to shifting administrative decisions undermines retention, depresses morale and accelerates loss of experienced professionals.”
Read the entire letter from the BCC here.
