Firings threaten valley’s public lands

On Saturday, an upside-down American flag, a sign of distress, hung from the sign marking the entryway to the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park, just like it had from the towering walls of Yosemite a week earlier. A group of roughly 50 people stood along the highway, protesting the mass federal layoffs within the National Park Service and other land management agencies. Their cardboard signs read “Protect Our Parks,” “Fund Parks Not Billionaires” and “Keep Public Lands Public.”

Within the group were students from Western Colorado University, terminated Park Service employees and residents who drove from as far as Buena Vista and Carbondale. Although the demonstration was small compared to the hundreds of people that gathered recently at Rocky Mountain National Park, Western graduate student Jessika McFarland said the turnout was a testament to the “grit of the folks on the Western Slope.”

“We know very well living in the mountains, the value of these public lands,” she said. “It's not just part-time recreation, it's our entire lives.”

President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) “workforce optimization initiative” resulted in the firing of hundreds of employees from Colorado land management agencies in February. The executive order targeted federal workers who were in their “probationary” period. The temporary status, which typically lasts between one or two years, is assigned to employees who are new to their roles.

This led to the firing of many employees who had worked within the agencies for decades, but had recently been promoted. It also hit those in the early stages of their careers, some of whom had just landed their first job after college. By slashing experienced public land managers alongside the next generation of incoming professionals, advocates worry the layoffs will rot away the core of the valley’s federal agencies.

With crippled capacity and waning morale, the remaining staff may struggle to care for the Western Slope’s public lands. If nothing changes, this summer Gunnison Valley residents will likely encounter closed or poorly maintained restrooms and campgrounds, barricaded boat ramps and degraded trail systems. In just a few months time, thousands of tourists will flood into the valley’s national forests and parks. Some may trash campsites, leave fires unattended and improperly dispose of human waste — impacts that will only worsen as the workforce shrinks.

The executive order has touched each of the Western Slope’s land management agencies: the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service. These agencies oversee some of the region’s busiest recreation spots: Hartman Rocks, the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, Curecanti National Recreation Area, the Black Canyon, Taylor Park and the Alpine Loop.

All of the Times’ requests for specific information about local layoffs were forwarded to press teams in Washington. The responses received were extremely vague and did not reveal any information about which, or how many positions were cut.

According to estimates from Jon Hare, executive director of Crested Butte’s High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA), the Park Service has lost 10 employees between Gunnison and Montrose, and the Forest Service Gunnison Ranger District has lost seven (plus another two in nearby Paonia). It’s still unclear how many have been let go from the BLM Gunnison Field Office. But the agency’s reach extends as far as Lake City and Silverton, so the impact of firings stretch much farther than the valley. In addition to their daily workload, a number of these workers acted as support staff when wildland fires broke out.

The Times spoke to a number of federal employees — some of whom had lost their jobs and some still employed — from land management offices around the region. Many asked to remain anonymous due to the uncertainty around possible rehiring and additional layoffs in the coming weeks.

Many expressed worry about the ripple effects the firings and funding freezes will have on rural communities with a limited job market and a high cost of living. Public land management agencies are one of the valley’s largest employers, falling in line alongside the school district and Gunnison Valley Health. The loss of stable jobs may result in an exodus. Some of these positions were tied to housing, and others to students’ future careers in public land management in the valley after graduation.

“This just shows that the election had consequences, and right now they're hitting home in our local community,” Hare said.

Former federal employees said they experienced weeks filled with anxiety as they scoured online forums and waited for the national news to trickle down into their local offices. Then, on Valentine's Day weekend, staff were laid off over email in a manner one former Park Service worker described as “demeaning” and “offensive.”

“During your probationary period, the Department has continued to evaluate your fitness for the position … The Department has determined that you have failed to demonstrate fitness or qualifications for continued employment because your subject matter knowledge, skills, and abilities do not meet the Department’s current needs,” read a termination letter shared with the Times.

“It's emotionally devastating. It's humiliating,” said one former federal employee. “I've never been fired from a job before in my life … Every job I've had, I've excelled at and put 100% of my effort into it. And to be fired the way that we were is so disrespectful.”

For one former employee, her recent promotion was an opportunity to finally settle in a new place after college.

“I had worked so hard for that stability, and then it was literally pulled away from me in an email,” she said.

None of the valley’s public land management offices were spared from the mass firings. And while snow is still on the ground, it's the calm before the storm. Even with the Blue Mesa bridge closure, nearly 200,000 people peered over the rim into Black Canyon in 2024, one source said. This year, fewer park rangers may be available to answer visitor questions, manage campgrounds and pick up garbage. Toilets and pullouts along Hwy. 50 — also managed by the Park Service — will likely be “decimated,” one former employee said.

The official website for the Black Canyon stated that all of its campgrounds are closed until further notice, rather than just for the winter season. A portion of the South Rim campground typically stays open year round. A similar closure was in place for the Curecanti National Recreation Area, with the exception of Loops A and D at the Elk Creek Campground. The Times reached out for further information, but did not receive a response.

The Park Service is tasked with helping other agencies like Colorado Parks and Wildlife keep invasive species, such as zebra and quagga mussels, out of the Blue Mesa and Taylor Park reservoirs, and Lake San Cristobal outside of Lake City. While the mussels are small, the cost of fighting infestations can be astronomical. Due to their ability to reproduce quickly and clog pipes, zebra mussels pose a risk to agricultural operations, hydropower production and the outdoor recreation economy.

Curecanti, which contains Blue Mesa Reservoir, has lost as much as 30% of its staff, one source said. The cuts mean fewer employees will be available to inspect boats, and it is likely that some of Blue Mesa’s boat ramps will stay closed this summer.

According to recent reporting in AP News, the Trump administration has plans to restore the jobs of dozens of Park Service employees, and to hire thousands of additional seasonal workers. Seasonals, many of whom return year after year, staff parks during peak season.

Still, the stress and disruption caused by the layoffs have put the agency far behind. Hiring has been delayed and some of those who lost their jobs worked in human resources and would have helped onboard and train incoming seasonals. Rattled by the unknowns, other employees are afraid to return to their parks this summer.

Forests at risk

Shawn Cleveland knew every corner of the 1.7-million-acre Gunnison National Forest by heart, from the steep slopes of Monarch Pass, to the remote reaches of Taylor Park’s shaded lodgepole forests. New hires, even those stationed at the front desk, shadowed him in the field to get a clearer picture of the vastness of the Gunnison Country. If someone called the office and inquired about which campsites could fit a 30-foot trailer, he knew the exact place to send them.

With the help of volunteers, Cleveland served as a caretaker for the guard stations, water systems, campgrounds and the thousands of dispersed campsites scattered through the alpine landscape north of Crested Butte. His friends and family called him crazy for building a career around a seasonal job, but Cleveland loved his work.

Two decades passed before the Forest Service would offer him a promotion that moved him into a permanent role last summer. A phone call from the district ranger in February would abruptly end his 22-year-long career.

“I didn’t see this coming,” Cleveland said. “It’s just a total shock … Another reason I’ve been around so long is that I take pride in [my job]. I feel it’s very important that there’s people like us with boots on the ground to take care of the forest so everyone else can enjoy it. Hopefully we’ll get that opportunity again.”

Cleveland left a skeleton crew behind, stripped of seasonals and interns. According to recent reporting in the Crested Butte News, there will be approximately 29 fewer Forest Service employees working in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National (GMUG) Forests this summer. This estimate, given by Forest Service officials, came prior to the layoffs. The first round of employee cuts, which began last fall due to budget constraints, targeted seasonal employees.

Last month, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet sounded the alarm on the mass terminations at the Forest Service on the Senate floor and through a letter sent to Brooke Rollins, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Sen. John Hickenlooper and Reps. Joe Neguse, Brittany Pettersen and Jason Crow also signed onto it. The decision will not only destabilize the agency, but the rural communities they serve, as Forest Service employees are key in “keeping downtowns vibrant and critical services intact,” the Feb. 14 letter states.

More than 11 million acres of forest — a primary driver of Colorado’s booming tourism industry — are managed by the Forest Service. As visitation to national forests has exploded in recent years, the size of the agency’s workforce has continued to decline. According to the letter, the Forest Service workforce is 30% smaller than it was three decades ago.

“With the rising cost of living across the state, Colorado communities are already challenged with limited USFS staff to confront land management challenges,” the letter states. “Combined with the existing hiring freeze, yesterday’s staff reductions will stretch the agency to its breaking point.”

The Times received limited information on layoffs at the BLM Gunnison Field Office. It manages over 600,000 acres of public land in the Upper Gunnison River Basin including Hartman Rocks, portions of the Powderhorn and Uncompahgre wilderness areas and the Alpine Loop outside of Lake City. Each summer, the BLM relies on seasonal OHV and recreation crews to maintain trails, manage visitation and complete restoration projects.

“We do not have a comment on personnel matters, however, BLM reaffirms its unwavering commitment to both the American public and the lands we protect. We are working closely with the Office of Personnel Management to ensure we are prioritizing fiscal responsibility for the American people,” said a BLM spokesperson.

On shaky ground

Because 78% of Gunnison County is public land, Western Colorado University has built numerous undergraduate degree tracks and master’s programs around natural resource management. A number of students now face severed career paths.

Approximately 300 students work with federal agencies during class time and use public lands for learning in majors like biology, environmental science, anthropology and recreation and outdoor education. Another 60 graduate students in the Master of Science in Ecology, Master in Environmental Management (MEM) and the Outdoor Industry MBA have projects linked to public land and wildlife management and recreation.

The three land management agencies are a huge career pathway for Western students, said longtime Western wildlife biology professor Pat Magee. It’s extremely common for students to do internships or seasonal work at one of the local offices, the key to securing a permanent position in the field.

“Now you're going through your degree trying to get ready to look for the next step, and all of a sudden there's a lot less opportunity … It's tragic and sad that we're going to get even farther behind on the already scarce workforce,” Magee said.

Outside of the classroom, some nonprofits also stand on shaky ground. Small organizations like the Gunnison Valley Conservation District work closely with land management agencies and depend on federal funding and contracted projects to stay afloat. Since it was founded in 1957, the district has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in assistance to the agricultural community, hosted educational events at the schools and university and supported cheatgrass treatments on private land. All this work will disappear without grant funding, said Aleshia Fremgen. She worked for the district for seven years and now acts as a volunteer advisor.

In Lake City, the Lake Fork Conservancy partners with federal agencies to clean up mines, and lead river restoration and land conservation projects. As a nonprofit, if federal funding remains frozen, it won’t have the money to pay its small staff, said Executive Director Camille Richard. Currently, the conservancy is waiting on stalled BLM road permits, and lease documents from the Forest Service for projects. Richard said she’s now concerned there might not be employees to process them.

Lake City serves as the gateway to the Alpine Loop, a scenic 4x4 road that winds through the San Juan Mountains. Each year, it attracts nearly half a million visitors. Richard worried there won’t be staff to monitor the environmental impacts of growing visitation on the sensitive alpine ecosystem, or for law enforcement to oversee the heavy vehicle traffic along the loop.

“It's going to be a mess … How are we going to manage the sheer numbers?” Richard said.

Calling all volunteers

Gunnison Valley residents have been successfully protecting their public lands in a community-oriented fashion for decades, from the creation of the Sustainable Tourism and Outdoor Recreation (STOR) Committee, to the Red Lady’s permanent protection from the threat of large-scale mining. Volunteer groups have led wet meadow restoration projects through the use of man-made beaver dams, and hosted trail work days and river cleanups.

The community’s support for its public lands has manifested into actual dollars through the Gunnison County Stewardship Fund. Launched in 2018, this fund has pumped more than $1 million into public land stewardship, and supported the trail crews of organizations like Gunnison Trails and the Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association. The money comes directly from local partners such as Vail Resorts and MetRec, among numerous others.

Following the federal workforce reduction, having local resources already set aside to sustain trail crews is a step in the right direction, said Gunnison Trails Executive Director Tim Kugler. With a larger trail crew this year, Gunnison Trails already has plans to take on additional work in the backcountry this upcoming season. Over the past couple of years, the organization has adopted a fair amount of wilderness work in the Fossil Ridge and West Elks from the Forest Service.

To help fill in the gaps created by the staff cuts, Hare said he wants to find more ways to empower residents to help care for their public lands.

“The local community will step up. We'll be there to do that project. We will not let it drop. We'll find a way,” Hare said. “I'm after stewardship funding. I'm after more people. How can we get the public engaged to go out on public lands and pick up the slack here? And by doing that, I hope that we show how important they are to us.”

(Bella Biondini can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or bella@gunnisontimes.com.)