Hirono Urges U.S. Forest Service to Provide Hawaii National Forest Report, IPIF Analysis

"You told me during the hearing that you fight for the Forest Service every day. Your actions tell a very different story"

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR), pressed U.S Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz on the Administration's refusal to provide Congress with the Hawaii National Forest Study Report, as required by law. Last week, during a full ENR committee hearing, Senator Hirono asked Chief Schultz to provide her with the study report and details informing the Administration's decision to close the Institute of Pacific Island Forestry (IPIF) headquarters in Hilo, Hawaii. After not receiving the Forest Study report, Senator Hirono sent a letter Chief Schultz demanding the Administration immediately provide her with the information as well as clarification on factors influencing the IPIF decision.

"When I questioned you about the report before the Committee, you said that you had the report ready and you were willing to provide it on the spot. Yet I have been told by your staff that they are unable to transmit the report. … This is profoundly unacceptable and is a disturbing example of this administration's disrespect for Congress and the law," wrote Senator Hirono.

In December 2022, Congress passed legislation requiring the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to conduct a study determining the feasibility and suitability of establishing a National Forest System in Hawaii. Instead of the results of this three-year study, on May 8-five days before the ENR Forest Budget hearing-Members of Congress received a letter from USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins with the recommendation stating: "the U.S. Department of Agriculture does not recommend establishing a unit of the National Forest System in the study area. The Trump Administration recognizes that those closest to lands and the people who use them - State and local governments that understand and respect the needs and desires of their communities - are in the best position to manage lands to meet those needs." The letter to Congress failed to provide data from the eight separate areas the Hawaii National Forestry Study was legally required to measure, nor did it include any details or findings supporting its conclusion. Despite Chief Schultz committing to providing this report, Senator Hirono has still not received it.

Senator Hirono also raised alarms about the proposed closure of IPIF, highlighting the research institute's unique location, capabilities, and importance in the region. Earlier this year, the Trump Administration announced a plan to close the majority of the U.S. Forest Service research facilities, including IPIF, claiming the closures were a "a business" decision. After learning the costs of relocating IPIF far exceeded the costs of deferred maintenance for the existing facility, Senator Hirono demanded information about the other factors that went into the closure decision.

"You told me during the hearing that you fight for the Forest Service every day. Your actions tell a very different story. Your dismissive attitude towards Congress, the law, and the impact that closing IPIF would have on our Forest Service employees and forests throughout the Pacific region is unacceptable. So that I understand your decisions, provide me the National Forest Study Report and complete analysis on IPIF immediately," concluded Senator Hirono.

Senator Hirono has long championed forest conservation and research initiatives in Hawaii and across the nation. Last month, she urged Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies leadership to include funding for the U.S. Forest Service and Rangeland Research and Development Programs (Forest Service R&D) in the upcoming fiscal year (FY2027) funding bill, which the Trump administration zeroed out. In February 2026, Senator Hirono introduced a bill establishing a minimum staffing level and ensuring adequate resources be provided for the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry and Institute of Tropical Forestry in Puerto Rico. In October 2025, Senator Hirono urged U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to reconsider the Trump Administration's decision to eliminate funding for the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Ecosystems Mission Area (EMA), which supports critical research that helps our country in facilitating conservation management, as well as understanding and responding to environmental threats. In September 2025, she introduced the Tropical Plant Health Initiative Act to expand research and grant funding opportunities to help combat pests and diseases affecting tropical plants including coffee plants, macadamia trees, and other iconic Hawaii staples. Senator Hirono has also introduced the Continued Rapid Ohia Death Response Act, in each Congress since 2022. This legislation would help restore native forests in Hawaii by enabling federal agencies - including the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) - to more closely coordinate with the State of Hawaii to prevent the spread of Rapid Ohia Death.

To watch the full exchange between Senator Hirono and Chief Schultz, click here.

The full text of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Chief Schultz:

During Wednesday's Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, you made assurances before the committee that you would provide me with a copy of the Hawaii National Forest Study report. I still do not have a copy. Your failure to provide Congress the report, as required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-328), Division DD Title II, Section 202, is unacceptable.

This law requires the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Forest Service to report on the results of a 3-year study to determine the suitability and feasibility of establishing a unit of the National Forest System in Hawaii. This study was to be comprised of eight separate components, which include the following:

1. An analysis of unique vegetation types in Hawaii that should be targeted for inclusion in a National Forest System unit;
2. A determination on the ability of the Forest Service to improve and protect forest areas and water flows in Hawaii;
3. A determination on whether a Nation Forest System unit would expand, enhance, or duplicate resource protection and visitor-use opportunities;
4. The economics of administering parcels under consideration for becoming part of the National Forest System;
5. The willingness of landowners to sell or transfer land to the Forest Service;
6. The suitability of the land to serve as a research natural area or experimental forest;
7. Estimates of the cost of federal acquisition, development, operation, and maintenance needed to establish a unit of the National Forest System; and
8. A list of alternatives for the conservation, protection, and use of area within Hawaii by the Federal Government, State or local government entities, or private and nonprofit organizations.

Instead of providing Congress with a report containing detailed results and analyses covering the aforementioned areas, as required by law, USDA Secretary Rollins transmitted a letter to Congress last week with the recommendation that "the U.S. Department of Agriculture does not recommend establishing a unit of the National Forest System in the study area. The Trump Administration recognizes that those closest to lands and the people who use them - State and local governments that understand and respect the needs and desires of their communities - are in the best position to manage lands to meet those needs."

When I questioned you about the report before the Committee, you said that you had the report ready and you were willing to provide it on the spot. Yet I have been told by your staff that they are unable to transmit the report as it is currently held up in clearance. This is profoundly unacceptable and is a disturbing example of this administration's disrespect for Congress and the law.

Additionally, during our exchange on the Forest Service's evaluation to close the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry (IPIF), I asked you to provide details on the $17 million deferred maintenance needs that your Associate Chief, Chris French, had quoted to my staff six weeks ago. My staff received information late yesterday afternoon clarifying that Mr. French had the wrong information and the $17 million figure was the replacement cost for IPIF, not the deferred maintenance cost. In other words, it would cost the Forest Service $17 million to purchase a similar facility, which would be a valid argument for keeping IPIF open.

During Mr. French's briefing with my staff, he reiterated that evaluating IPIF for closure was strictly a business decision. Based on the information that the Forest Service has provided me and my staff to date, the costs incurred by IPIF are as follows:

• A $1 lease that ends on April 30, 2067.
• Annual utility costs of approximately $170,000.
• Deferred maintenance totaling $2.85 million.

When confirming these expenses with your staff, we were told that these costs "will be factored in among other factors as a decision is being made." This is concerning, as Mr. French explicitly stated that whether to close IPIF would be strictly a business decision. It now seems like the decision will be political, if not solely based on facility costs. As such, please provide a list of factors, other than these costs, that will inform the decision on whether to close IPIF.

You told me during the hearing that you fight for the Forest Service every day. Your actions tell a very different story. Your dismissive attitude towards Congress, the law, and the impact that closing IPIF would have on our Forest Service employees and forests throughout the Pacific region is unacceptable. So that I understand your decisions, provide me the National Forest Study Report and complete analysis on IPIF immediately.

Sincerely,

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