Maryland Delegation Members Press USDA, USFS to Make Good on Commitment to Keep Baltimore Urban Forestry Office in Baltimore

September 22, 2026 Press Release USFS reversal comes after Senator Van Hollen questioned Chief Tom Schultz in the Senate Appropriations Committee, received commitment to maintain presence in Baltimore WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representatives Johnny Olszewski, Steny Hoyer, Jamie Raskin, Glenn Ivey, Sarah Elfreth, and April McClain Delaney joined U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks and U.S. Representative Kweisi Mfume (all D-Md.), in calling for United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden and United States Forest Service (USFS) Chief Tom Schultz to reverse course on the decision to close the USFS Baltimore Field Office and relocate staff outside of Baltimore. The USFS Baltimore Urban Field Station leads forestry-related projects that benefit the local Baltimore community and conducts important forestry and urban ecology research that informs land use decision-making throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed and beyond. The lawmakers pose several questions to USDA and USFS around the decision, which comes after Senator Van Hollen questioned Chief Tom Schultz in the Senate Appropriations Committee and received commitment to maintain presence in Baltimore. The lawmakers begin , “On April 30, 2026, during the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the United States Forest Service (USFS) FY27 budget, Chief Schultz assured Senator Van Hollen that USFS would not force Baltimore Urban Field Office employees to relocate outside of the Baltimore area during the USDA reorganization. Despite this commitment, when USFS announced earlier this month that the Baltimore Urban Field Office will close, we learned that USFS intends to relocate Baltimore employees to Beltsville, Maryland – a location that is decidedly outside of the broader Baltimore area. USFS must make good on its word and keep Baltimore Urban Field Office employees in Baltimore so they can effectively continue their place-based and partnership-dependent work in the Baltimore area.” On the critical benefits for keeping the Baltimore Urban Field Office in the Baltimore area, the lawmakers write , “When Secretary Rollins announced the USDA reorganization, one of the stated pillars of the plan was to ‘bring USDA closer to its customers.’ Closing the Baltimore Field Office and relocating employees away from Baltimore violates this core principle, since the primary ‘customers’ of the USFS Baltimore Urban Field Office are in Baltimore; they are the community groups, local government, and academics with whom the Field Office has developed partnerships and collaborations during its nearly 40-year tenure on the campus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. These relationships have enabled important research projects that benefit the Chesapeake Bay watershed and regional forests, as well as urban forestry projects in the Baltimore community. For example, the Office supports community-led restoration and urban revitalization efforts in Baltimore by leading the Baltimore Urban Waters Partnership. It delivers professional skill building and workforce training to urban youth in Baltimore by supporting youth forestry projects at the Stillmeadow Church and Peace Park. And it started an urban wood reuse project that successfully spun off into a city-run urban sawmill and wood recycling center.” Among other questions, the lawmakers go on to ask the following: — Did USDA or USFS conduct an analysis of the costs and benefits associated with closing the Baltimore Urban Field Office as compared to keeping them in the current location? — Has USDA or USFS assessed the impact that closure of the USFS Baltimore Urban Field Office and relocation of employees outside of the Baltimore area will have on the important work that the Baltimore Urban Field Office has been conducting? “The Baltimore location is critical to the ability of the Baltimore Urban Field Office to successfully accomplish its place-based and partnership-driven work. This work not only benefits the Baltimore community but serves as a model for urban forestry work in cities across the country and the world. The Baltimore Urban Field Office is an asset to the nation and its closure serves no one. Keep your word and keep the work of the Baltimore Urban Forestry Office in Baltimore.” the lawmakers conclude. The full text of the letter is available here . ### Issues : Energy