The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins has announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has finalized a rule modernizing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations. This Final Rule adopts the changes introduced in the Interim Final Rule published on July 3, 2025, which consolidated seven agency-specific NEPA regulations into a single, department-wide framework, reducing the overall volume of regulations by 66%. This major action is also a linchpin in Secretary Rollins’ broader Deregulatory Agenda for the U.S. Agriculture and Consumers.

“NEPA is a procedural statute meant to ensure the government considers reasonable environmental analysis before making a final decision,” says Deputy Secretary Vaden. “It has morphed into the greatest roadblock to everything from protecting our National Forests from devastating wildfires to constructing much needed roadways. With this reform, we return NEPA to its intended role of requiring analysis and unleash the ability of USDA to once again get the American people’s work done.”

For years, USDA agencies observed how overregulation turned the NEPA process into a form of bureaucratic overreach that hindered American innovation, eliminated jobs, and increased costs for Americans. The changes in the Final Rule restore USDA’s NEPA implementation to its core purpose: ensuring federal agencies consider environmental impacts while maintaining the flexibility needed for efficient permitting and faster delivery of critical USDA services and funding relied on by farmers, ranchers, loggers, and rural communities.

Rayonier will maintain the Rayonier name after a thorough review of alternatives following its recent merger of equals with PotlatchDeltic, while also introducing a new corporate logo that reflects a fresh brand identity for the combined company.

“In a spirit of collaboration following our transformative merger of equals, we considered numerous alternatives for a new company name,” says Mark McHugh, President & CEO. “We also considered the rich history, considerable brand equity, and established market presence of both the legacy Rayonier and PotlatchDeltic corporate brands. Ultimately, the new Board of Directors and senior leadership team of the combined company agreed that the new organization would be best served by retaining the name ‘Rayonier,’ while also introducing a refreshed corporate logo that reflects the beginning of a new era as a combined company. This approach will allow us to honor our proud history and leverage our strong brand equity among stakeholders, while also mitigating the cost, complexity and potential risk of confusion in adopting an entirely new corporate identity.” 

Rayonier owns nearly 4.2 million acres of forests across 11 U.S. states, with a strong presence in the U.S. South and Northwest, and operates six sawmills, an industrial-grade plywood mill, residential and commercial real estate developments, and a rural land sales program.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Service (FS) has announced it will move its headquarters to Salt Lake City, Ut., and begin a sweeping restructuring of the agency to move leadership closer to the forests and communities it serves.

Secretary Brooke L. Rollins says, “Establishing a western headquarters in Salt Lake City and streamlining how the Forest Service is organized will position the Chief and operation leaders closer to the landscapes we manage and the people who depend on them.”

Alongside the relocation of its headquarters, the FS will begin transitioning to a state-based organizational model designed to shift authority closer to the field by organizing leadership around state-level accountability, supported by shared operational service centers and a unified national research enterprise.

Under the new model, 15 state directors will be distributed throughout the country to oversee FS operations within one or more states. State directors will serve as national leaders with primary oversight of forest supervisors, operational priorities, and relationships with states, tribes, and other partners. Each state office will include a small leadership support team responsible for functions such as legislative affairs, communications, and intergovernmental coordination.

This approach is intended to simplify the chain of command, strengthen local partnerships, and give field leaders greater ability to respond to conditions on the ground.

“This is about building a Forest Service that is nimble, efficient, effective and closer to the forests and communities it serves,” says Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz. “Effective stewardship and active management are achieved on the ground, where forests and communities are found—not just behind a desk in the capital. Through this transition, we will strengthen our connection to the forests and the people who depend on them, while supporting our employees and honoring the dedication that has always defined our service. I’m honored to help guide this new chapter for the Forest Service, following the vision set forth by President Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot more than a century ago.”

As the agency transitions to the state-based model, the FS will shift many functions currently housed in regional offices to a network of operational service centers that will be established in Albuquerque, NM; Athens, Ga.; Fort Collins, Colo.; Madison, Wis.; Missoula, Mont.; and Placerville, Calif.. Additional service center locations may be added as the transition progresses.

The FS will also consolidate leadership of its research enterprise. The agency currently operates multiple geographically dispersed research stations, each with its own leadership structure. Under the reorganization, the FS will bring those stations together under a single FS research organization, located in Fort Collins, Colo. These changes are designed to unify research priorities, accelerate the application of science to management decisions, and reduce administrative duplication. 

Under this reorganization, the agency’s Fire and Aviation Management program will retain its existing Geographic Area Coordination Center structure, which remains the backbone of national incident coordination. There will be no interruption or change to our field-based operational firefighters or their positions. The program will continue reporting to the Deputy Chief for Fire and Aviation Management at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Id. This structure ensures the agency’s ongoing, close coordination with the Department of the Interior and interagency partners. It will reinforce the unified, national approach essential to effective wildland fire response until the FS’s wildland fire management operations are unified into the U.S. Wildland Fire Service (USWFS) within the Department of the Interior (DOI).

The restructuring will also drive a review and consolidation of facilities nationwide. As part of this transition, all regional offices will close; however, several facilities will be retained to support ongoing mission needs. Additional phases of the reorganization, including the formal elimination of regional and station office structures and the full transition to a state-based model, will be implemented over the coming year.

The agency’s retained facilities will support essential functions during and after the transition, with the facility in Juneau, Ala. serving as a state office, the facility in Vallejo, Calif. repurposed as a national training center, and the facility in Albuquerque, NM retained as a business support service center and state office.

The Forest Service will provide employees and partners with detailed transition guidance as different milestones approach. 

Following the announcement from current CEO Nick Arkle of his intent to retire more than a year ago, the Board and ownership group of Gorman Group has named Ashlee Cribb its next Chief Executive Officer. Cribb joins the Gorman Group on April 1, 2026, and will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer on July 1, 2026, following a three-month transition alongside Arkle. She will be based in West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, working closely with teams across all operations.

Cribb brings more than 30 years of experience in the forest products and manufacturing sectors, with a track record of leading large, complex operations while maintaining a strong focus on people, customers, and product quality. Her experience spans both family-owned and publicly traded organizations, giving her a well-rounded perspective that aligns strongly with Gorman’s operation.

Importantly, this transition has been designed to ensure continuity. Arkle will remain actively involved throughout the transition period, and after the three months he will continue to support the business in his new role as non-executive Chair of the Board. His ongoing work with government and Indigenous partners will remain a key part of the company’s success moving forward.

The Gorman Group is a family-owned company celebrating its 75th year of operations. With multiple divisions in southern British Columbia and one in Washington State, producing a variety of boards, as well as wood products for a variety of interior and exterior speciality applications.