Next Tuesday, April 11, at 2 p.m. EST, I’ll be holding my quarterly all-employee call. As always, I look forward to this opportunity to speak with you. I know you have several issues at the top of your minds, and I’d like to provide an update about one we’ve frequently heard about—housing.

It is imperative that our employees have access to safe housing while working on behalf of the American people. I convened a cross-deputy working group of associate deputy chiefs to work on this issue and its many facets—affordability, availability and maintenance. While some challenges are specific to a region and its nearby communities, there are some universal constants. The group is designing a national strategy to address the range of housing challenges across the regions and stations.

The cross-deputy working group recently briefed me on the proposed national housing strategy. To get us all thinking together in advance of the call, below are some highlights from the proposal:

1. Maximize existing authorities to reduce the cost of quarters for permanent and seasonal employees and identify funding opportunities to make necessary repairs on housing.  
2. Hold a housing summit to include a cross-section of stakeholders to consider creative, attainable solutions to the housing issue. The summit is intended to help frame the issues from a local perspective and explore opportunities to partner across regions and stations. 
3. Support the regions in submitting proposals to the Department of Housing and Urban Development to construct new housing for Forest Service employees and local communities, to include supporting regional initiatives and partnerships in developing opportunities for community-led housing solutions.   
4. Submit recommended revisions to the controlling federal policy guidance to allow more latitude to the agency to influence rental rates on government housing, coordinate use of existing financial tools to assist employees, especially lower-grade employees, with housing costs, and allow for more public/private partnerships to build affordable housing. 
5. Continue to work on a national strategy that supports and encourages regional solutions. The national strategy will expand on Forest Service research and pilots being done in wood innovations and building sustainable and affordable housing.

Several units are already working with local governments, community leaders, universities and other federal agencies to find innovative solutions. For example, the White River National Forest is using Section 8623 of the 2018 Farm Bill to offer Summit County, Colorado, the opportunity to lease Dillon Work Center. Last fall, the county submitted a proposal for a 50-year lease of the property focused on providing affordable housing options for local workers and Forest Service employees. Proposed designs include 162 housing units in a variety of configurations, and there will be a certain number set aside for Forest Service employees.

The Rocky Mountain, Pacific Northwest and Pacific Southwest regions submitted proposals through HUD to build housing units within their communities. Rocky Mountain Region employees also created a geospatial map of the region that provides leadership detailed information about Forest Service-owned housing, availability of local homes for sale or rent, and median income and rental rates in an area. That data map is being used as a model for a national map to give decisionmakers a better understanding of local conditions when talking to prospective or current employees about an area. These are the kinds of innovative solutions that will help us meet the challenges facing us.

We are also looking for volunteers who want to help further build our housing strategy and provide positive solutions and recommendations. During the call, we will share more information about how you can volunteer. 

I am very interested to hear your reactions to what I have shared so far. What is missing? What else do you think we should be thinking about? If you would like to share your thoughts, either to be discussed during the all-employee call or to be passed along to the team, please email FS-Employee Feedback.

While we may not answer you directly, leadership will review questions and use them to gauge what you’d like to know now or in future calls. Again, I look forward to speaking with you.

Editor's Note: Provide feedback about this column, submit questions or suggest topics for future columns through the FS-Employee Feedback inbox.