The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the majority of its offices closed across the country Tuesday , including one in Fort Collins, will reopen on Wednesday.
“USDA continues to work with local and federal law enforcement, including the FBI, to assess the seriousness of the e-mail threats received (Monday),” department spokesman, Matt Herrick, said in a statement. “As such, we have determined that the situation now allows us to begin reopening most of our facilities with enhanced security.”
All USDA offices in Fort Collins were set to reopen for normal office hours Wednesday, except for the Forest Service’s facility which will resume operations about noon.
“Most facilities will reopen with additional security enhancements, including the presence of law enforcement or security personnel on site,” Herrick said. “For the remaining sites, we continue working to ensure these offices will be ready to reopen, safely and securely, as soon as possible. We will share further updates on the status of this situation as more information is available.”
The facilities that remain closed are awaiting additional security enhancements for a safe and secure opening, the USDA said.
The USDA said a group of anonymous e-mail messages were received by the agency Monday and concerned officials about the safety of department personnel, prompting the closures. Officials did not elaborate on the nature of those messages.
The closed offices spanned five states and six different locations, including Fort Collins, Hamden, Conn.; Beltsville, Md.; Raleigh, N.C.; and Kearneysville and Leetown in W.V.
The shuttered Fort Collins office holds the U.S. Forest Service’s building at 2150 Centre Ave., which houses the Canyon Lakes Ranger District headquarters for the Arapaho and Roosevelt national forests. The Forest Service is under the auspices of the USDA.
USDA agencies affected by the closures include the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Agricultural Research Service, Food Safety Inspection Service, Forest Service, National Agricultural Library, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Office of the Inspector General and USDA Departmental Management.
In total, about 1,500 employees were affected by the closures, the USDA says, including roughly 200 in Fort Collins.
