I worked for the U.S. Forest Service as a permanent seasonal employee last year studying critical trout and salmon habitat in forests throughout the western U.S. I loved my job. I loved the people that I worked with. Despite the long hours, heavy gear carried over difficult terrain and the challenging conditions, I looked forward to every day of work because I knew that what I did mattered for the long-term health of the public lands that I hold dear.
Opinion
This week, many of my friends and former coworkers found out that their jobs had been terminated, two months from the start of the field season. This is the case for thousands of people who rely on federal jobs for their livelihoods and who now have no prospect for employment. Many of my friends were relying on being able to return to work and will now suffer as a result of these sweeping layoffs. I earned about $15,000 from my six months of seasonal employment, which makes the fact that our work is being called useless and wasteful by an unelected official in the highest office of government sting even worse.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis said last week that Wyomingites are “thrilled to see President Trump and Elon Musk get to work rooting out waste, fraud and abuse within our government.” Is this how Lummis views her constituents? As a waste of money? Is this truly how our elected officials view the vital role that our federal employees play in conserving 30 million acres of public land in Wyoming?
To those who are gleeful that the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, is “draining the swamp,” know that the supposedly corrupt bureaucrats being removed from their jobs include people willing to earn just $15 an hour because they love the often exhausting work of caring for public land. Know that the long-term impacts on our landscapes will be devastating. There will be little capacity for trail maintenance, few rangers to ensure that our national parks are properly managed, no support for wildland firefighters who often rely on non-fire personnel for aid, and certainly none of the research and habitat management efforts that are crucial to the mission of public lands.
These job cuts are going to hurt our neighbors, our communities and the ability of remaining civil servants to accomplish the tasks given to them by the American taxpayers. This is true not just in agencies like the Forest Service, Bureau of Reclamation and Department of the Interior, but across all federal agencies. Ask yourself if it’s worth it to send thousands of talented individuals spiraling into unemployment and send our country closer to economic collapse.
The people who are losing their jobs now are the future of this country. They are biologists, wildlife specialists and people who put in the work to ensure that your public lands are healthy for future generations. Not only that, but seasonal employees are the lifeblood of many small communities throughout the West. Without the economic impact of seasonal federal workers and revenue from tourism, communities across the state of Wyoming could suffer the consequences.
Our state and federal representatives claim that slashing and burning large portions of the federal government will somehow be good for Wyoming. Speaking on behalf of thousands of people now out of work, I can say with certainty that won’t be the case.
I worked for many companies and endured layoffs furloughs promotion freezes, pay cuts. Welcome to the adult world. Life is a comae as you are event, no guarantees.No one is entitled to a government or civilian job. Government is not a benevolent society or charity organization. Be the first to reapply for your job and keep politics out of it. It has DOGE singling you out. It has to do with our Federal government is bankrupt and in debt $37 Trillion. You want the government to borrow more money to pay you? We won’t have a country of a government if cuts aren’t made. It is unfortunate that you lost your position but it is your responsibility to market yourself and the skills. NOTHING TO DO WITH ELECTED OR UNELECTED. When you accept a government job it is not a guaranteed life position. With your skills you can make more than $15 k in the civilian sector so go there.
Lot of these laid off forest service employees will be hired back on as seasonal workers. Like they were. But I doubt any of these people spoke up about coal miners oil feild, RR workers getting laid off. Lot of sawmills have closed as well when Biden pulled logging contracts. Did any of these folks help those laid off workers
It seems to me that Lummis, Barrasso, and Hageman might as well pack up and come back home. Their jobs as members of Congress have been abrogated by Elon Musk and they are doing little other than jumping up and down in joy as Lummis did the other day. I thought that as part of their jobs as legislators was to monitor waste, fraud, and abuse and spend tax money appropriately. They must not have contributed much to that endeavor and are counting on Elon Musk to do it for them. Perhaps we should look to elect more effective legislators next time.
Here is another fun fact to all this chaos. These people were Fired, not laid off, with the notation of “Poor Job Performance.” Being a retired Payroll Bookkeeper, I worry how this affects the worker’s ability to file for unemployment in the State of Wyoming. These people may be required to get previous job performance reviews to prove that before being fired, they were performing their jobs. If that is the case, they will not receive unemployment until they are able to discredit the “Poor Job Performance” notation. Besides making such a mean-spirited assessment, was this an intentionally vindictive way of further attacking these people? Just because they worked for the Federal Government? Wyoming, aren’t we are better than this?
The destruction of our government is being done by the world’s richest man who has bought and paid for Donald Trump for over $250 million. Trump is letting Musk do whatever the hell he wants and it only serves musks interest. Our elected officials Barrasso, Lummis , and Hagaman all jump for joy and praise the destruction of our government. they all talk concerns about the $36 trillion debt of this country. Keep in mind 8 trillion of that is from Donald Trump‘s first term, but they’re not going to use the wages from the federal employees to pay down the debt they’re saying they will give tax breaks and that’s how to bring prices down. My way of thinking is you pay the debt down before you start a tax break? Bill Clinton balanced the budget years ago and they didn’t destroy the government doing it. He was a real president.
I wonder if he’d feel better if he was canned by an elected official or if he’s aware that our present condition is mainly because of thousands of an unelected bureaucracy. Unfortunate, but necessary.
Lummis and Barrasso have sold their soul to Trump. Keeping power for themselves is more important than serving Wyoming citizens.
Its disappointing. Earlier years, I have supported both Lummis and Barasso, but I won’t, any longer
I agree 100%. I feel the same can be said of our legislators. They don’t have the courage to stand up and speak up. “This is the way the world ends, not with a bang, but a whimper. T. S. Elliot
Thank you for your insiteful and timely article. I’m sorry you lost your job. I for one appreciate what you do and did. Wake up Washington.
This is what ‘Merica voted for. I’m really sorry that the rest of us are being punished, but selfish people don’t change until their choices hurt them. May the chickens come home to roost and may their eggs cost $20/dozen.
If Benedict Donald and his bff are going to run everything, why do we need Congress? Especially if the majority party is so spineless and care so little for their constituents, why should we care about them and their cushy jobs? Remember when Senator Orrin Hatch (R), Utah went against his constituents wishes, they “called him home.” I think it’s time to do the same with Senators Barrasso and Lummis, and Rep. Hagerman, especially if they think it’s okay if their constituents are losing their jobs.
Does every senator in every state protect their constituents’ so no one loses a job? Status quo is not sustainable.
Thanks Emma for your heartfelt and wise words! These cuts are nothing but a sneaky, underhanded attempt at destroying the public’s love for public lands. If campgrounds are trashed, the outhouses are not cleaned, etc., the public will stop caring too. Thus making the political situation easier for the greedy perpetrators of desiring our public lands to be privatized to achieve their goal. Trump and the cowering, let Trump as he pleases Republican Congress need to hear from all of us. We need to bombard our so-called leaders with just how important public lands are to those of us who hunt, fish, photograph, camp, hike, and otherwise use public lands.
Here are three Wyoming jobs that need to be cut: two senatorial positions and one representative lounging about in Washington, D.C. America’s constitution created three SEPARATE AND EQUAL branches of government: legislative, executive, judicial. Why? So these three entities would keep an eye on each other and act as a brake when one got out over their skis. Wyoming’s congressional delegation should be loudly contesting the illegal and harmful action of the executive branch, in this case, the unofficial firing of federal employees by a non-government, non-legitimate, non-qualified, non-authorized civilian. A civilian who receives billions of your taxpayer dollars by the way, feeding at the public trough. But no, not a peep. Since our two senators and one representative refuse to comply with their constitutionally defined duty, they have made themselves superfluous, unneeded, useless and frankly, the exact ‘waste’ that they tout must be eliminated. These three need to either stand up for Wyoming, our children and seniors, our veterans and wildlife, our health and public places, our customs and culture, or else get the h*ll out of Dodge.
Ms Moore: Absolutely 100% agree. Thank You
Of course YOU know what is legal. Musk is only an auditor. 100% of your thoughts are bs.
Excellent article and comments
Given the randomness and lack of rationale behind Musk’s firings, and the glee with which our D.C.delegation is supporting their constituents distress, it might be an interesting exercise for one of your reporters to do an article on the number of staff members each employees as an efficient use of our tax dollars.
This is a tragedy and it didn’t need to happen. I’ve been layed off about 3 times while trying to log in the Black Hills National forest. Frank D. one of the logging contractors working on forest service timbered declared bankruptcy 5 times and Dave D. who I was working for declared bankruptcy 3 times, which caused a divorce and I lost 2 months pay. The Hill city saw mill is shutdown, Spearfish is running at half capacity and Hulett is running at half capacity – hundreds of people were layed off and most of this is due to mismanagement and incompetency of the USFS – fire fighting excluded. While our sawmills were being shut down, 440,000 acres of bark beetles died and over 100,000 acres of fires occurred and our saw mills were shut down due to lack of wood from USFS lands. And we now import 30% of our finished wood from Canada since we can’t produce enough from our national forests,
Here’s the real facts on mismanagement. The State of Montana actually makes a profit on sales of timber from state land – that is they pay all the overhead and salaries of state employees and have money left over. Our national forests are capable of making a profit in each ranger district and paying the salaries of all the forest service employees in a matter suggesting no one would ever lose their job. The commodity price of wood is now $610 per thousand board feet and the forest service receives about $200 per thousand for stumpage fees paid by the saw mills – if they were allowed to harvest our own timber, thats a lot of money and enough for our USFS to be self sufficient – no layoffs.
However, our national forests are in terrible shape and millions of acres of harvest able wood are allowed to burn or die via bark beetle infestations. Sadly, in many cases where the Forest Service does try to manage our forests they are blocked in court. I talked this over with some of my friends who had also been layed off multiple times and their opinion was if we had to be layed off doesn’t it follow suite that USFS employees should be layed off also. Why have a forest service staff that should be allowed to effectively manage our forests in a healthy and productive manner – make a profit – and millions of acres of trees wouldn’t be wasted.
In the 1960s and early 1970s the Forest Service was functional and the Black Hills National Forest was one of the best managed forests in the nation but since then it has progressively gotten worse. How do you reorganize the USFS so it can be self sufficient and functioning as intended???
Mr Campbell, sounds like you have a definite opinion based on personal experience. So be it, you’re allowed. But you also should take into consideration that these firings are happening at all agencies, not just Forest Service. At VA, at FEMA, at IRS, and the list goes on, and on and on. Federal employees at all levels and all walks of life are getting axed. Not a good thing.
Don’t tell us… yer preaching to the choir and the church janitor. Hammer it home to Senator Barrasso… he’s Trump’s lieutenant.
Don’t worry, when Tesla owns Yellowstone in a few years after public lands go up for sale, it will be great. In the meantime, starve the national parks of funding and staff so that they will become unbearable, and then the rubes can scoff and say, “See, the government doesn’t work.” A symbiotic relationship, truly.
Remember when Lummis and Hageman disrespected YOUR vote? That’s fraudulent.
All three of our ‘reps’ are a waste of oxygen. Keep voting for the fraudulent politicians that harm you! Good people are going through this because of the incompetence of congress.
I’m afraid the GOP will use the firing of federal land managers to insert private sector companies into the management of public lands. Rich donors and extractive industries will have a free-for-all while the public will be locked out or forced to pay more for access. This needs to stop.
My son lost his job as an archeologist with the National Park Service. He loved his job preserving and protecting the history of the people of this great land. Several others of his friends have also been fired for no reason even though they also love our parks and our country and were doing what they could to help preserve what is left. Therewas no attempt to root out fraud and abuse. Just a general purge of good people.
Making the federal government more efficient is an admirable goal. Flailing about and firing some of the lowest-paid workers is not the right way to go about it. The President needs to be checked until he can come up with legitimate plans instead of political stunts. Our public lands and wildlife will suffer if we stand by and let this administration continue its arbitrary staff reductions.
The DOGE canary, which explained alot, was the early on – in fact, the very first people let go were the Inspectors General, whose job it is to root out fraud from the Federal Government. I almost made a typo but its’ appropo..now it’s our Feral Government.
I had only worked for USFS for 9 months before being cut. It was my first federal job. I’ve spent the last 6 years getting a degree so I could earn about $8/hour LESS than I did 14 years ago. I was living in a camper because the wages I earned were significantly less than the cost of living, which a 1 bedroom apartment cost about $1200/ month but I only brought home a little more than $1400/month. I did it because I want to make a difference in the environment for ALL future generations. If not me then who?
What I witnessed in the days before the Valentines Day Massacre and since is like witnessing the intimidation and violence of a murder. Over qualified individuals losing the positions they gladly accepted because they knew it was best for the whole country. We are public servants. Our forest was way understaffed prior to the hiring event and was already bracing for a hard season of being understaffed due to the hiring freeze. If you want qualified candidates you have to pay for them. If you want them to work on long term projects, like managing a forest, you have to offer them long term employment.
I agree with ridding the government of corruption and waste. Since Congress holds the purse strings, I’d start there. They approve every single taxpayer dime. Look at who donates to the elections and follow the money trail. Congress members don’t come into congress wealthy but oddly leave with millions. They seem to find it in the budget to receive better healthcare, better pay, and better retirement than any other government branch. I agree with getting rid of excess spending but also believe that you have to hold priorities that benefit the most people for the longest period of time.
Additionally, I believe that public lands belong in federal hands. If lands are transferred into state or private hands, we lose access. Prove me wrong. Don’t let these politicians lie to you. Follow the money and you’ll see.
The idea that all these employees are corrupt is patently ridiculous. If you don’t care about their wellbeing (and you should) think of the effects on the communities that they work and live in and in this case the local environment that they help protect. Huge ripple effects are going to spreading across the country in future months and years. And remember they are raising the debt limits so it really isn’t a cut in expenditures it’s mostly a tax break for the well off
thank you Emma for this article. As a former FS employee and lover of public land my heart is broken.
Good writing explaining how DOGE rather than making our government more efficient is creating chaos and hurting its faithful employees just like it did with USAID.
I don’t think public lands are a priority, neither is the environment. In fact I would not doubt that the whole concept will be up for a big change before too long.
BooHoo! You choose to take a part time job that lasts 6 months, and want the rest of us to feel sorry it is being cut in the name of efficiency? Get a teal, full time job (the federal government IS stull hiring). I find it hard to believe that a UW graduate can’t find employment outside of a part time government employee.
Sir, your spelling errors make your point ring even more hollow than your total lack of understanding of the situation. Let alone your absolute lack of compassion.
Explain how President Musk determined which jobs to cut in the name of efficiency. The South African is acting like a bull in a China store, with total indifference to any reasoning or planning. As well, many of his personnel cuts are ignoring institutional knowledge. A dead cockroach has more discernment than Musk or Trump.
Your lack of understanding or compassion and the sheer ugliness of your comments will surely come back to bite you. Karma, ya know.
She was commenting on ALL the jobs lost within the forest service, not simply her own.
Your reading comprehension is apparently as poor as your spelling.