U.S. Forest Service to close all of its Michigan research facilities

Carol Thompson, The Detroit News on Apr 2, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is closing all four of its Forest Service research and development facilities in Michigan as part of a massive restructuring effort, the federal agency announced this week.

The move could impact the health of Michigan's nearly 3 million acres of national forestland, a Michigan forestry researcher said. State officials are still assessing how the restructuring could impact Michigan's woods.

The U.S. Forest Service headquarters will move from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City, Utah, the department announced on Monday. The Forest Service will close 57 research and development facilities, including those in Houghton, East Lansing, Wellston in Manistee County and L'Anse in Baraga County in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

With the closure of Michigan's research facilities, the closest to the state will be in Rhinelander and Madison, Wisconsin, and Delaware, Ohio.

A USDA spokesperson did not answer how many employees in Michigan would be affected by the reorganization. At least some will be able to relocate to other facilities.

"The transition will occur in phases," the spokesperson said in an email. "Employees will receive clear information about relocation timelines, available options, and resources to support their decisions."

There are three national forests in Michigan: the Huron-Manistee, Hiawatha, and Ottawa national forests. Collectively, the forests are nearly 3 million acres in the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula.

Could the Forest Service's moves harm Michigan's woodlands?

The Forest Service's East Lansing facility is on Michigan State University's campus, MSU forestry professor Bert Cregg said. The federal employees work alongside MSU researchers and share resources, he said, which is why many Forest Service research facilities are located on university campuses.

Forest Service researchers Cregg has worked with in East Lansing focused on forest health issues caused by diseases and invasive pests, he said.

Michigan is facing a "litany" of such problems, such as emerald ash borer and beech bark disease, that are harming Michigan's woodlands, he said.

"With global trade, they're not going away," Cregg said. "There are only going to be more and more. That's one of the things that could impact us... I don't know exactly how this is all going to shake out, but it's hard to envision where it's good news."

U.S. Forest Service plans new western headquarters in Salt Lake City

The shift westward will streamline Forest Service operations by putting leaders closer to the larger swaths of federal lands, which is in the western U.S., USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a press release.

"Moving the Forest Service closer to the forests we manage is an essential action that will improve our core mission of managing our forests while saving taxpayer dollars and boosting employee recruitment," Rollins said. "Establishing a western headquarters in Salt Lake City and streamlining how the Forest Service is organized will position the Chief and operation leaders closer to the landscapes we manage and the people who depend on them."

Cregg, who worked for the Forest Service in the 1990s when he graduated from his doctoral program, questioned the logic of closing research stations.

"They're going to move the Forest Service headquarters to be closer to where the forests are, but they're closing the research stations that are where the problems are," he said.

It's unclear how the Forest Service's reorganization will affect the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' forestry work, DNR spokesman John Pepin said in an email. DNR foresters co-manage the three national forests in Michigan.

The DNR works closely with the Northern Institute for Applied Climate Science in Houghton, which is being moved to Fort Collins, Colorado, Pepin said.

________