A federal judge has put a hold on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plan to break up and relocate the U.S. Forest Service. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins is pressing on anyway. “We are full-bore ahead in the reorganization,” Rollins told reporters, according to the Associated Press.

The plan would move Forest Service headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City, shut down 23 research stations, and swap many regional offices for new state offices. On Oct. 13, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria paused it. He wrote that the administration “almost certainly” broke the rules Congress set on how the money could be used. He also warned that thousands of USDA workers would likely have to choose between moving far away, often to another state, and losing their jobs.

That choice affects every community near a national forest. The Forest Service has already shrunk by about 16%, from more than 39,000 employees to 33,000. A union survey found a large majority of Forest Service workers oppose the plan, and most say they won’t relocate. Chris Iverson, who spent almost three decades at the agency, warns the shake-up could drain staff with deep experience, including in fighting wildfires, at a time when fires have grown worse.

This has been tried before. During President Trump’s first term, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) headquarters moved to Colorado. Two years later, it was moved back to Washington.

Secretary Rollins must respect the court’s order and stop all reorganization work. Congress must protect the Forest Service staff and research stations that keep national forests healthy and nearby towns prepared for fire season.

Sign the petition to halt the Forest Service reorganization now, while the courts decide whether it is even legal.