Thousands of USFS Trail and Maintenance Workers Job Cut 2025

[Shawn]

"Long lines and canceled rentals: Firings bring chaos to national parks"
https://www.yahoo.com/news/long-lines-c ... 01658.html

[dave54]

https://www.latimes.com/california/stor ... -employees

As the story points out, 1000 permanent staff were cut, 7700 temporary can be hired.
Permanent employees have fewer turnover, so you retain critical skills and institutional knowledge, and the employee gets experience in a breadth of different program areas and additional training in the off-season.

[balzaccom]

https://www.latimes.com/california/stor ... -employees

As the story points out, 1000 permanent staff were cut, 7700 temporary can be hired.
Permanent employees have fewer turnover, so you retain critical skills and institutional knowledge, and the employee gets experience in a breadth of different program areas and additional training in the off-season.

Note that my post was about USFS personnel, not NPS.

But I love your idea replacing full-time experts with many part-time interns makes everything more efficient. Which industry does this successfully?

[dave54]

https://www.latimes.com/california/stor ... -employees

As the story points out, 1000 permanent staff were cut, 7700 temporary can be hired.
Permanent employees have fewer turnover, so you retain critical skills and institutional knowledge, and the employee gets experience in a breadth of different program areas and additional training in the off-season.

Note that my post was about USFS personnel, not NPS.

But I love your idea replacing full-time experts with many part-time interns makes everything more efficient. Which industry does this successfully?

Well, Twitter did.....oh wait.... what is the company's valuation now compared to when musk bought it?

Anyway, it is already starting. I just read Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument will be closing on Mondays and Tuesdays. Not only the Visitor Center, the entire Monument gated.
Coming soon? Yosemite National Park, open Tue -Thurs. 9-5

We will be doing a lot of boondocking this summer.

[Schleppy]

https://www.latimes.com/california/stor ... -employees

As the story points out, 1000 permanent staff were cut, 7700 temporary can be hired.
Permanent employees have fewer turnover, so you retain critical skills and institutional knowledge, and the employee gets experience in a breadth of different program areas and additional training in the off-season.

Note that my post was about USFS personnel, not NPS.

Someone let me know if I am interpreting this story correctly:

• They fired 1,000 regular employees from NPS.

• Also, NPS seasonal hires slated to start all had their job offers rescinded.

• Dept of the Interior now says NPS can hire 7,700 seasonal employees when they normally are allowed 6,300 seasonal hires – an increase of 1,400.

So the seasonal job offers rescinded will now be reissued and NPS will hire 1,400 additional seasonal employees.

Effectively what's happening is that NPS is replacing 1,000 regular, year-round employees with 1,400 seasonal hires.

Did I get this right?

[Jim F]

Just returned today (Feb 21) from an outing in Yosemite NP. My observations:

(1) Entrance requirements and staffing at Entrance Station (on Highway 120) unchanged.

(2) Campground reservation at Upper Pines honored and reservation checked on entering campground. Campsite and restrooms very clean. Camp Host on site at Campsites 50/52.

(3) Wilderness Permits self issued at dedicated kiosk in front of Welcome Center (located next to Market in Yosemite Village).

(4) At the Information Desk inside the Welcome Center two rangers answer questions, including relating to trails.

(5) The Backpackers Campground (basically, a satellite of North Pines Campground) is open for those with a Wilderness Permit.

(6) Excellent selection of inexpensive local beers at the Curry Village Market.

Jim

[balzaccom]

Maybe our discussion here did some good--more to come.

Trump administration backtracks on thousands of national parks jobs
DPA Internalnational
Fri, February 21, 2025 at 1:48 AM PST

Following a loud public outcry about job cuts at the National Park Service — and a relentless media campaign from outdoors enthusiasts across the country — it looks like the administration under US President Donald Trump has reconsidered.

A plan to eliminate thousands of seasonal workers at the beloved federal agency appears to have been reversed.


... The memo addressed only temporary seasonal employees. It said nothing about the roughly 1,000 members of the National Park Service's permanent workforce who were fired Friday


https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-admini ... p_catchall

[SweetSierra]

I want to see the six rangers (permanent employees I believe) who were let go reinstated to Joshua Tree National Park.

[dave54]

Federal fish hatcheries are being closed.
However, public pressure forced the rescind of the order to freeze Pitman-Robertson Act grants for wildlife projects. Those are not federal funds, so I don't know why they were stopped in the first place. Some hacker on the doggy team didn't know what it was, so he ordered it stopped?

[SNOOOOW]

Just returned today (Feb 21) from an outing in Yosemite NP. My observations:

(1) Entrance requirements and staffing at Entrance Station (on Highway 120) unchanged.

(2) Campground reservation at Upper Pines honored and reservation checked on entering campground. Campsite and restrooms very clean. Camp Host on site at Campsites 50/52.

(3) Wilderness Permits self issued at dedicated kiosk in front of Welcome Center (located next to Market in Yosemite Village).

(4) At the Information Desk inside the Welcome Center two rangers answer questions, including relating to trails.

(5) The Backpackers Campground (basically, a satellite of North Pines Campground) is open for those with a Wilderness Permit.

(6) Excellent selection of inexpensive local beers at the Curry Village Market.

Jim

Thank You for the update, Jim. It sounds like the sky isn't falling after all.