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BILLINGS, Mont. — <\/span>The U.S. Forest Service is closing 23 research stations in more than a dozen states as part of an organizational overhaul<\/a> under President Donald Trump that is intended to trim costs and concentrate the agency\u2019s resources in Western states, officials said Thursday.<\/p>\n Work being done at the research stations will continue at other sites, Forest Service Associate Chief Chris French said in an interview. An additional 41 research facilities that faced possible closure will remain open after local officials and members of Congress raised concerns about the reorganization, which was announced in March.<\/p>\n \u201cOur primary goal was to get our facilities costs under control,\u201d French told The Associated Press. \u201cWe\u2019re not closing any ongoing science activities. We\u2019re not closing any of the experimental forests that are important to our researchers.\u201d<\/p>\n The 95 employees at the research stations slated for closure will be relocated to other sites, Forest Service Communications Director Chad Douglas said. The closures \u2014 along with previously announced plans to shut regional offices in Atlanta, Milwaukee and Portland \u2014 will save about $16 million, officials said.<\/p>\n The reorganization also includes moving the agency\u2019s headquarters from Washington to Salt Lake City. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has said the move, expected to be completed by next summer, will bring leaders closer to the landscapes they manage and the people who depend on them.<\/p>\n Conservation groups have criticized the changes, warning that they could reduce access to forests and threaten wildlife habitat and clean air and water.<\/p>\n Federal data shows that the Forest Service has lost about 6,000 employees, or about 15% of its workforce, during Trump\u2019s second term as part of the Republican administration\u2019s sweeping cuts to agencies that oversee the nation\u2019s natural resources.<\/p>\n During Trump\u2019s first term, he moved the Bureau of Land Management to Colorado<\/a>, citing many of the same reasons, including a desire to put top officials closer to the public lands they oversee. Former President Joe Biden\u2019s administration reversed course<\/a>, returning the bureau\u2019s headquarters to Washington after two years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n