STAND WITH OUR PUBLIC LANDS STEWARDS

Thousands of National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management employees were recently terminated. The loss of these workers — those who manage, steward, and care for public lands — will have wide-ranging negative impacts.

In Wyoming, where more than half the state is public lands, these indiscriminate firings threaten the protection and maintenance of countless cherished landscapes. Stand with our public lands stewards: Tell Wyoming’s congressional delegation that you oppose these firings by signing on to the letter below.

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Dear Senator Barrasso, Senator Lummis, and Representative Hageman,

We, undersigned citizens who value Wyoming’s public lands, write in opposition to the recent unprecedented firings of federal employees within the agencies that steward our national forests, national parks, and rangelands. These layoffs will impact Wyoming communities and industries that rely on public lands to be managed and maintained, and will jeopardize the protection of landscape health, wildlife habitat and the ability of agencies to address wildfire risk. We urge you to work to reverse these firings and restore staffing to these agencies immediately. 

Employees of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the National Park Service (NPS) are essential for maintaining campgrounds, trails, roads, other infrastructure; stewarding our parks and forests through public education; protecting wildlife habitat and cultural resources; responding to emergencies; addressing wildfire risk; and managing activities that allow for responsible multiple use of our public lands. Agency employees and their expertise are vital to our rural Wyoming communities and the public’s ability to enjoy our public lands while ensuring their condition will be maintained and improved for future generations. 

For most Wyomingites, public lands are essential to quality of life. The same goes for the nearly nine million yearly visitors to the state. The importance of Wyoming’s outdoor recreation industry cannot be overstated; in 2023, outdoor recreation generated $2.2 billion, accounting for 4.1% of Wyoming’s GDP and providing over 15,000 jobs. The vast majority of those jobs are tied to our public lands through retail or service industries that support our rural communities. However, without federal employees stewarding our forests, parks and other public lands, those very industries and the private sector jobs that rely on them are threatened.

It is becoming clear that federal employees are being let go without any analysis of the roles that they play. For example, many Forest Service employees help mitigate wildfire risk and hold red card certifications, making them essential in responding to major fires.  Other federal employees have years, if not decades, of expertise in their field, yet they are being fired. Some have been subject to probationary periods simply because of recent promotions. Additionally, seasonal employees responsible for maintaining our campgrounds, trails, and National Parks are being let go, which could severely impact the public’s ability to use and enjoy our public lands. Finally, and most importantly, many of these individuals and their families are valued members of Wyoming communities. Their termination will likely force many to seek work outside Wyoming. 

The mass removal of key positions within our federal land management agencies comes at a time when Wyoming is experiencing near-record levels of recreation and tourism, including high national park visitation, and follows a historic wildfire season. Now more than ever, we need to maintain our public lands for current and future generations to enjoy. Without quickly reversing these firings, Wyoming communities will most certainly be impacted for years to come as our public lands are degraded and go unmaintained. We urge you to work swiftly to restore the workforce for these agencies immediately, and work to prevent future layoffs.  




Sincerely, 


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