It’s been a tough week for the nation’s park system. Massive layoffs are occurring throughout the federal government this week as part of President Donald Trump’s plan to drastically reduce the federal workforce. Standing beside Elon Musk, an unelected official granted authority by Trump to dismantle parts of the U.S. government, Trump directed all federal agencies to identify employees who could be laid off immediately.
That directive has resulted in thousands of workers losing their jobs this week. So far, that includes 3,475 workers at the U.S. Forest Service, according to union officials who spoke with GearJunkie on Friday. It also includes 1,000 workers at the National Park Service, according to a Friday report from the Washington Post.
National park officials from Yosemite to Denali have sounded the alarm over fears that the country’s parks system, already understaffed, cannot handle the strain.
“This is what they said they were going to do, and they are doing it,” said Aaron Weiss, deputy director for the Center for Western Priorities, a nonprofit. “It’s going to be devastating not just for the folks let go but for anyone who lives near these parks. And if you’re planning on visiting national parks this summer — it’s going to be bad.”
Neither the U.S. Forest Service nor the National Park Service returned requests for comment Friday about the layoffs.
U.S. Forest Service Layoffs: Questionable Legality
The legality of the layoffs is questionable, said Matthew Brossard. Brossard is a representative of the National Federation of Federal Employees, which represents the majority of U.S. Forest Service employees. It’s also unclear if firefighters and public safety personnel will be included in the layoffs. Many of them are also probationary employees who could be potentially targeted under the Trump/Musk plan.
According to a termination letter from the U.S. Forest Service obtained by GearJunkie: “The agency finds, based on your performance, that you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the agency would be in the public interest.”
Brossard thinks that could be grounds for fired employees to appeal.
“The reason for the termination is one hundred percent a lie,” Brossard said. “They’re stating all these employees are poor performers, and they should not continue. But there’s no documented performance issues.”
The National Federation of Federal Employees has reached out to members of Congress. It’s for clarification on exemptions for firefighters, among other crucial park personnel, but hasn’t heard back.
“The impact is severe,” Brossard said. “There’s going to be essential services from the Forest Service that are going to stop. We don’t know how our emergency services are going to be affected. There’s going to be huge ramifications of this in the near term and in the long term. I can’t even put a word to how this is going to affect the agency in the near future.”
More Layoffs Abound
The U.S. Forest Service is far from the only federal agency to be hit with layoffs this week.
After a federal judge allowed the White House to move forward with its Fork in the Road plan, Trump instructed federal agencies to focus on shedding probationary workers. Many of these workers have contracts that are less than a year. Often, that means they have fewer job protections and lack the right to appeal.
As a result, Thursday saw layoffs across many agencies, and the news continued to pour in Friday. Some federal agencies have explicitly announced the layoffs, like the Department of Veterans Affairs. Many other agencies have remained silent, leading media organizations to report on layoffs as they hear from newly unemployed workers. A few examples:
- The Department of the Interior, which manages the National Park Service, laid off 2,300 workers, Reuters reported.
- The Department of Veterans Affairs dismissed more than 1,000 employees.
- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau laid off 70-100 employees, NPR reported.
- The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention will lay off about a tenth of its workforce, or 1,300 employees, the Associated Press reported.
As for the nation’s embattled parks system, the National Parks Conservation Foundation (NPCA) said this week’s layoffs would leave many parks understaffed and facing difficult decisions about operating hours, public safety, and resource protection.
“Exempting National Park Service seasonal staff from the federal hiring freeze means parks can fill some visitor services positions,” said Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the NPCA. “But with peak season just weeks away, the decision to slash 1,000 permanent, full-time jobs from national parks is reckless and could have serious public safety and health consequences.”
The culling on Thursday took place at the Departments of Energy and Veterans Affairs, among others, and followed terminations of scores of probationary workers earlier this week at the Department of Education, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Small Business Administration.
