Grand County asks for help avoiding DOGE's closure of federal offices

The Grand County Commission is urging Utah’s congressional delegation to evaluate the possible closure of three federal offices in Moab, warning the move could jeopardize public safety, land management and the region’s tourism-based economy.

The appeal follows a sweeping cost-cutting initiative led by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE — a Trump administration agency headed by Elon Musk with a broad mandate to eliminate what it deems wasteful federal spending. One of DOGE’s priorities: reducing the government’s leased office footprint nationwide.

DOGE initially published a list of 793 federal lease terminations on March 2, estimating potential savings of roughly $500 million. By late March, the agency revised the list, removing 136 leases and reducing the projected savings by $150 million. The exact reasons for the removals were not disclosed, though some facilities were reportedly taken off the list following public and political pushback.

As of April 18, DOGE’s website lists 653 lease terminations nationwide, with projected savings of about $350 million. Two facilities in Moab remain on the list, along with four others in Utah.

The county commission responded by voting 6-0 to approve a letter at its April 15 meeting urging Utah’s federal representatives to take seriously the potential consequences of closing three Moab-based federal offices with upcoming expiring leases this year and next year.

The letter, addressed to Sens. Mike Lee and John Curtis and Rep. Mike Kennedy, outlines the value of the local offices used by the National Park Service and U.S. Geological Survey — including their roles in flood monitoring, ecological research, park operations, river rescue and public land management.

“These offices house employees who provide directly to the safety of our community and provide critical services for our public lands that drive our tourism economy,” the letter states. “We strongly urge you to seriously evaluate these closures and the impacts that these closures will have on the general safety of our visitors and community, coupled with the economic impacts on our tourism-based economy.”

Federal offices on the line

At the center of local concern is the Southeast Utah Group headquarters — a 35,358-square-foot facility at 2282 Resource Blvd. that serves as the administrative and logistical hub for Arches and Canyonlands national parks, as well as Hovenweep and Natural Bridges national monuments.

The building also houses the USGS Southwest Biological Science Center, which conducts research on land health, vegetation and ecological restoration. According to Southeast Utah Group spokesperson Karen Henker, the facility supports about 70 employees — approximately 50 from NPS and 20 from USGS — including program managers, permanent staff, seasonal crews and interns.

Henker said the building includes leadership and program staff for all five major divisions that serve the four units: administration, interpretation, visitor and resource protection, maintenance and resource stewardship and science.

It includes vehicle and equipment storage, river operations under the visitor protection division, GIS and compliance mapping systems and archival storage — though some archival materials were relocated in past years. The building is also home to boats, snowplows and heavy equipment used for rescue operations and road maintenance across the parks and canyons like Westwater and Cataract.

The NPS facility is explicitly listed for lease termination on DOGE’s website. DOGE reports the lease costs $805,408 annually and projects more than $8 million in savings if allowed to expire in April 2026. Henker confirmed the square footage, lease cost and lease end date.

A USGS lease in Moab also appears on DOGE’s website, though it is not clearly identified. The listing refers to a 4,750-square-foot lease with an annual cost of $134,100 and estimated savings of $91,482, but does not specify whether the facility is the Water Science Center or the Southwest Biological Science Center.

The Water Science Center, located at 123 West 200 South, supports stream gauge, meteorological and water quality monitoring across southeastern Utah — including Mill and Pack creeks and the Green and Colorado rivers. The data is used by local, state, tribal and federal partners to help manage water resources and plan for flood events.

All three Moab-based federal offices — the NPS Southeast Utah Group headquarters, the USGS Water Science Center, and the USGS Southwest Biological Science Center — appear in a March report compiled by Democrats in the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources, which is tracking potential impacts of the federal lease reduction effort. The report notes that the NPS and Biological Science Center leases are set to expire in April 2026, while the Water Science Center lease expires in September 2025.

Federal officials and agencies respond

As of April 18, just six Utah leases appeared on DOGE’s official termination list — down from 10 originally reported in early March. While the agency has not explained why certain leases were removed, reporting by The New York Times and others has noted that some facilities were taken off the list following pushback from local communities or elected officials — something Commissioner Trish Hedin, who led the effort to introduce the commission’s letter, hopes it will influence.

“I would hope that [Utah’s delegation will] have a broader understanding of what these agencies provide for our communities and will push back against DOGE and their bulldozer tactics to get rid of government waste and inefficiency,” she told The Times-Independent.

(Andrew Christiansen | The Times-Independent) The U.S. Geological Survey’s Utah Water Science Center is one of three Moab-based federal offices potentially affected by lease terminations under review.

A spokesperson for Sen. John Curtis, who previously represented Moab as part of Utah’s 3rd Congressional District, said Curtis is “aware that several federal offices in Grand County are under review for potential closure as part of broader cost-saving measures.”

“Senator Curtis will work with the National Park Service, USGS, county commissioners, and local leaders to ensure the community’s needs and concerns are fully considered during the evaluation process,” the spokesperson said.

The offices of Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Mike Kennedy did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The National Park Service Office of Public Affairs declined to comment directly on the Moab NPS building, but issued a general statement, saying it is actively working with the GSA to evaluate facility needs and identify alternatives. The agency described the review as part of broader cost-cutting and workforce reforms initiated under the Trump administration.

“We are prioritizing strategic reforms to maximize resources, cut waste, and enhance operational effectiveness across our facilities,” the statement reads. NPS emphasized that the process is ongoing and framed the effort as part of a broader commitment “to streamlining government operations while ensuring that conservation efforts remain strong, effective, and impactful.”

The agency also said it is working with the General Services Administration to ensure “facilities or alternative options will be available as we embrace new opportunities for optimization and innovation in workforce management.”

‘The whole purpose was to be efficient’

Kara Dohrenwend, executive director of the Moab-based nonprofit Rim to Rim Restoration, said the federal offices in question are essential to both regional planning and day-to-day land management. Her organization regularly partners with NPS and USGS on restoration projects, invasive species removal and watershed planning. She also helped to inform the commission’s letter outlining the offices’ value.

“The Park Service building, while they rent it, has been modified expressly for them to house the administrative offices for four units,” Dohrenwend said. “The whole purpose of it was to be efficient.”

She said the facility’s design supports coordination between NPS and USGS teams on issues like biocrust preservation, revegetation and invasive species.

“There’s these ways that they can connect that would be broken [if the building closed],” she said.

The river shop also supports search and rescue operations beyond park boundaries.

“They get involved in search and rescue all the way up into Westwater,” she said. “That’s a really important connection, where there’s some specialized equipment in that shop, and if it has to vanish or be put in a location farther away, it’s less useful.”

Dohrenwend also emphasized the importance of local USGS staff who manage real-time stream gauge data on Mill and Pack Creeks, the Green River and the Colorado River that is relied on by emergency managers, river outfitters and state, federal, tribal and local partners.

“If we lose the people who are doing the monitoring and management of the gauges, that’s a big deal,” she said. “They’ll be less efficient … less effective and less accurate. They know the area because they live here.”

She added she feels the uncertainty around potential closures is already affecting long-term project planning.

“Everyone’s kind of feeling the need to be in a triage mode instead of in a long term planning mode,” she said. “And when you are trying to make decisions based on scarcity instead of on real planning, that’s not great for anyone.”

Steve Evers, executive director of Friends of Arches and Canyonlands Parks, shared similar concerns, specifically about the potential closure of the NPS building.

“The national parks in this area are accountable for nearly half a billion dollars of economic input to our local communities,” he said. “If they can’t operate there … where on earth are they going to operate out of? What does that mean for our community, the parks themselves, for Americans and for people worldwide to be able to come and enjoy these places safely — that’s what concerns me.”

Evers added that Moab has limited office space, raising questions about where displaced federal staff could go if the buildings are shuttered.

“These are folks that are essential for the operations of this park, especially with it being one of the world-class destinations — that takes people to operate, so it’s deeply concerning and worrying,” he said.

This story was first published by The Times-Independent.