For too long, the Forest Service has been bogged down by excessive processes that hamper innovation. I want every employee to focus on actions that roll back this red tape. Doing so ensures critical projects are easier and faster to accomplish. I believe that the people closest to the ground know the forest best, and we should listen to what they have to say.

As I stated in my FY26 priorities, deregulation is a top priority for our agency. Most would agree that our directives are overly complicated, lengthy and outdated. At my direction, the Forest Service Policy Office has developed and begun implementing a “Directives Modernization” strategy. This strategy will streamline and simplify our directives and return discretion to decision-makers in the field.

This effort involves restructuring the Directives System and clarifying the purposes of its two components, the Forest Service Manual and Handbooks. We are preparing to take the first step—issuing a proposed rule—this spring.

Through this rulemaking we propose to redefine the nature of the Forest Service Manual and Handbooks. All mandatory directions will be contained in the manual. These requirements will be reduced to the minimum necessary to ensure we comply with the law, keep people safe and manage taxpayer dollars responsibly.  

Once the rule is finalized, handbooks will contain only non-binding advice to help employees get their jobs done—no more inflexible mandates or prescriptive procedures. The new handbooks will support employees who are new to the agency, to their role or to a place while empowering those with more experience to make decisions based on their hard-earned knowledge and expertise.

Additionally, we will rescind most regional, station and unit-level directive supplements to provide a more consistent set of expectations for agency employees—and greater predictability for our partners, visitors and customers—across all Forest Service units.

We aim to complete this part of the strategy by the end of the current fiscal year. We also plan to revise national directives to align with the pending agency reorganization. That revision will ensure authorities are delegated appropriately.  

Rightsizing our directive system is a substantial undertaking that will require input from a range of stakeholders inside and outside the agency. The Policy Office will lead this effort and work collaboratively with programs to make the necessary directives changes. Public and tribal notice and comment opportunities will be provided for the upcoming rulemaking and for each subsequent step required by law. We look forward to your engagement and feedback.

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