The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has eliminated its Bureau of Forestry and a few other DNR jobs in response to a state budget cut.
Lawmakers approved a $1.2 million cut to the department earlier this year.
DNR spokesman Alex Murphy says the forestry bureau is only losing its chief. He says the district foresters and other employees will remain at the department.
"We've moved these employees under different areas and actually eliminated the bureau itself, although all the functions of the bureau exist, just in different bureaus or divisions," Murphy says.
He says dissolving the forestry bureau will save the DNR about $277,000.
In addition to the forestry bureau chief being terminated, seven other DNR employees were laid off. One was the state geologist.
Murphy says the changes will not affect services.
