Stakeholders push back on proposed USDA reorganization

Commenters are overwhelmingly negative about a proposed reorganization by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Between August 1 and September 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture received nearly 47,000 emails responding to its proposed reorganization. Based on its analysis of comments, the agency reports 82% of the comments received during this time expressed negative sentiments relating to the reorganization. Comments expressed concern about reduced transparency, stakeholder engagement, diminished regional leadership, and potential impacts on research, environmental stewardship and frontline services.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposed a reorganization to “refocus its core operations on supporting U.S. agriculture, producers ranching and forestry, structured around four pillars: workforce alignment, proximity to customers, bureaucracy reduction and consolidation of redundant functions.”

Many of the comments mirror the concerns that The Wildlife Society voiced to the USDA, including lack of prioritization of science in agency decision-making, loss of service delivery and the loss of ability to conduct place-based research. TWS is concerned that these changes may hinder the ability to provide essential knowledge to management recommendations tailored to local ecosystems and conditions.

A portion of the public comments revealed deep skepticism that the changes are driven by evidence rather than politics, with comments noting a lack of publicly available cost-benefit or operational impact analysis and a lack of rationale for choosing the five hubs. Comments emphasized that there has been insufficient transparency in the reorganization process and demanded more stakeholder input. Although the comments were overwhelmingly negative, retirees did note that “opportunities exist to enhance customer service.”

Read the comments made by TWS here and USDA summary and analysis of stakeholder feedback comments here.