How firings of U.S. Forest Service workers could disrupt Arizona trails

By Maria Staubs

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    TUCSON, Arizona (KGUN) — Thousands of U.S. Forest Service workers across the country have been fired as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to reduce the federal workforce. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed 2,000 probationary positions were cut.

Matt Nelson, executive director of the Arizona Trail Association, said the firings affected 10% of the Forest Service workforce in Arizona.

The nonprofit works closely with land management agencies, primarily the U.S. Forest Service, to build, protect and maintain the 800-mile Arizona National Scenic Trail, including areas like Mount Lemmon and the Santa Rita Mountains.

“Without those people helping to safeguard these places and care for them, all of us are going to suffer,” Nelson said.

The U.S. Forest Service manages several national forests in Arizona, including Apache-Sitgreaves, Coconino, Coronado, Kaibab, Prescott, and Tonto, which covers approximately 11.25 million acres, according to theU.S. Forest Service.

“They do a lot with a little, especially with volunteer support from organizations like ours, but we can’t do anything without them, without their approval, without their oversight,” he said. “If those people aren’t there to help enforce or approve those, we can’t get any work done for trail maintenance, new trail construction, and helping people access public lands.”

He added that the staffing shortages could start with bathroom closures and progress to the cancellation of special events and gatherings on public lands due to a lack of personnel to approve those activities.

“Projects we’ve been working on for years, like the Santa Catalina Trail plan and building new trails on the mountain to help people access the forest, those will be shut down just because there aren’t enough people to manage the programs,” Nelson said.

The firings are part of a broader initiative by the Department of Government Efficiency to streamline the federal workforce and eliminate what it calls “wasteful spending.”

At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday, businessman Elon Musk symbolized this effort with a chainsaw, calling it “the chainsaw for bureaucracy.”

But, Nelson says some of those affected by the firings were long-time federal employees, some with over 30 years of service who were considered ‘probationary’ because they were transferring from the Forest Service to the Bureau of Land Management, for instance.

“So many of these people that are working for public lands, they do it because they love it,” Nelson said.

A USDA spokesperson said in a statement:

“Secretary Rollins fully supports the President’s directive to improve government, eliminate inefficiencies, and strengthen USDA’s many services to the American people. We have a solemn responsibility to be good stewards of the American people’s hard-earned taxpayer dollars and to ensure that every dollar spent goes to serve the people, not the bureaucracy.

As part of this effort, USDA has made the difficult decision to release about 2,000 probationary, non-firefighting employees from the Forest Service. To be clear, none of these individuals were operational firefighters. Released employees were probationary in status, many of whom were compensated by temporary IRA funding. It’s unfortunate that the Biden administration hired thousands of people with no plan in place to pay them long term. Secretary Rollins is committed to preserving essential safety positions and will ensure that critical services remain uninterrupted.”

Despite the USDA’s assurances, Nelson remains concerned and plans to take his message to Washington, D.C. He intends to meet with Arizona’s congressional delegation to highlight the importance of preserving public lands and the critical role of federal employees in their maintenance and protection.

“If you look at a map of the state of Arizona. It’s public land. It’s ours. It’s yours it’s mine. It’s future generation’s and it’s our collective responsibility to care for them,” he said. “But, there’s one agency that is charged congressionally with caring for those and that’s the U.S. Forest Service, and without them and us supporting them in all the ways that we possibly can, I think our public lands could be in big trouble.”

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