SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Thousands of National Park and Forest workers are being fired as the federal government cuts back on spending. Terminated employees say they received an email on Valentine’s Day - saying it was because of poor performance. Their positions varied from educational programs, bathroom and trail maintenance, and wildlife research.
“To give those employees a notice without any sort of review or notification to their supervisors or managers, that's a real insult," said Jack Shu. "It’s an insult to the services these people provide to the public.”
Shu has worked at several national and state parks over the last three decades. He’s also the founder of the Cleveland National Forest Foundation, credited for protecting the forest from developers.
“Our national parks are about conserving our legacy," Shu said. "Our cultural and national legacy.”
"What type of impact will this have on firefighting efforts in California?”
“Terrible in many ways.”
Park and Forest Service employees play a big role in fighting California wildfires. Shu says all of them are able to help fire teams and more than 20,000 do so every year, including some from Cleveland National Forest who recently helped contain the flames in Los Angeles.
“They do proactive work in the forest, thinning out the forest, cleaning out the brush," said Neal Desai with National Parks Conservation Association. "Things that help reduce catastrophic fires, now we’re down on staffing for that.”
Desai says of 20,000 full-time NPS workers, around 1,000 were terminated. The USDA says it released 2,000 probationary, employees from the forest service, but none of them had firefighting as part of their official job. A USDA spokesperson sent 10News a statement saying:
“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.”
Congressman Daryl Issa representing California's 48th district, which includes Cleveland National Forest, sent 10News a statement that reads:
“For too long, America’s debt and deficit have gone unaddressed and unresolved. That stops now. Government can’t come close to justifying its current size, and it is a bankruptcy sentence to our children and grandchildren. We will continue to provide for our national priorities, but America cannot give all things to all people.”
