Rising housing costs in rural counties is undermining the U.S. Forest Service's ability to recruit employees.
According to a recent article from the National Association of Counties (NAOC), “The U.S. Forest Service is having trouble recruiting employees because of the housing shortage in rural counties, so much that it’s the most pressing issue applicants ask about while being recruited.” In some areas, the nearest affordable units available would require up to a one- or two-hour commute.
Though the Forest service owns more than 3,000 housing units, budget cuts and the agency’s $360 million-maintenance shortfall mean many of those units are deteriorating, reports NACO senior writer Charlie Ban. Further complicating the issue is the fact that the federal government cannot subsidize housing or provide financial incentives to employees for housing.
As a result, Ban writes, the Forest Service has been forced to get a little creative. In Summit County, Colorado, the agency formed a public-private partnership with the county and the town of Dillon to have a private developer construct and manage a 162-unit housing facility with a certain number of beds and units reserved for seasonal and permanent Forest Service Employees.
The catch? It's unclear if this solution will be replicable elsewhere. “The agreement, the first of its kind, was reached using a leasing authority the agency hopes to include in the next farm bill to allow for similar developments — the leasing authority for the 2018 farm bill expired days after the Dillon agreement was signed,” the NACO article reports.
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