Washington, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (NH-02) introduced legislation to prohibit the Secretary of Agriculture from closing any U.S. Forest Service Research and Development facility, including Experimental Forests, unless Congress expressly authorizes the closure. Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) co-leads the legislation.
The legislation comes amid deep concern over the Department of Agriculture and U.S. Forest Service reorganization plan, which initially slated New Hampshire’s Bartlett Experimental Forest for closure and placed Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest under review. Following extensive advocacy from the New Hampshire delegation, Hubbard Brook was retained while Bartlett remains under evaluation for possible closure.
“This bill is very simple,” said Congresswoman Goodlander. “No administration should be able to shutter world-class facilities that support our entire forest economy without the communities that rely on them getting a say. Granite Staters depend on these incredible forests to sustain good-paying forest economy jobs, protect our air and water, and keep the northern forests in our country healthy for generations to come.”
“Our nation’s public forests provide us with clean air and water, allow for outdoor recreation, and are part of our way of life in New Hampshire,” said Congressman Pappas. “The Protecting America’s Forest Act would stop the administration’s attempt to reorganize the U.S. Forest Service which oversees our public lands and world-class research program. I’m glad to be leading this legislation with Congresswoman Goodlander, and I’ll continue to fight overreach by the administration and protect our great outdoors.”
In New Hampshire, Bartlett and Hubbard Brook are nationally recognized research assets that help foresters, landowners, scientists, and policymakers understand and manage northern forests. These facilities serve as the backbone of science-based forest management, and provide critical information to support conservation, climate resilience, wildfire preparedness, and the forest products sector across the country.
In April, Goodlander and Pappas joined 60 of their colleagues in a letter opposing the proposed reorganization of the Forest Service and calling for the effort to be halted. The members warned that the proposal would undermine the agency’s world-class research program, worsen staffing and expertise losses, and put public lands and nearby communities at risk.
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