U.S. Forest Service Announces Reorganization with New Headquarters in Salt Lake City, UT and State Office in Placerville, CA

March 31, 2026 – The U.S. Forest Service announced it will move its headquarters to Salt Lake City, Utah, and begin a restructuring of the agency. Alongside the relocation of its headquarters, the Forest Service will begin transitioning to a state-based organizational model supported by shared operational service centers and a unified national research enterprise. 

For California, the state office will be located in Placerville. Nationwide, 15 state directors will replace the previous 9 regional foresters and oversee forest supervisors, operational priorities, and relationships with states, tribes, and partners. Each state office will include a small leadership team responsible for legislative affairs, communications, and intergovernmental coordination. The Forest Service’s current facilities in Vallejo, CA will be repurposed as a national training center.

Additionally, the Forest Service will shift many functions currently housed in regional offices to a network of operational service centers to be established in Placerville, CA; Albuquerque, NM; Athens, GA; Fort Collins, CO; Madison, WI; and Missoula, MT. The Forest Service will also reorganize the various research stations into one in Fort Collins, CO. In California, six of the eight Forest Service research facilities will be shut down with facilities in Placerville and Riverside remaining open.