Gluesenkamp Perez, Washington Colleagues Urge U.S. Forest Service to Reinstate Fired Employees Critical to Wildfire Response, Timber Harvest

Last week, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03), along with Reps. Kim Schrier (WA-08) and Rick Larsen (WA-02), wrote a letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins and U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz, underscoring impacts of recent workforce cuts to local federal lands and calling for the Administration to refrain from further cuts to federal workers that could negatively impact timber production, wildfire readiness, and recreation in Southwest Washington.

U.S. Forest Service staff are essential to keeping cherished public lands in Washington state safe and accessible to the public. They also help to maintain the health of our national forests, which is a crucial component in reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires. As a part of the Administration’s cuts to federal agencies, thousands of Forest Service employees have been fired in recent weeks, including those who support wildfire response and timber sales.

“Our timber communities have been hollowed out, with local schools and infrastructure suffering as a result. We’ve seen increasing consolidation of logging, trucking, and mills when big players are able to weather protracted litigation as mom-and-pop operations shutter. While the Administration’s order to jumpstart harvest on our federal lands will help revive rural economies in Southwest Washington, layoffs of the hardworking folks who execute our federal timber sales will undermine that mission,” said Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez. “The Gifford Pinchot National Forest is in my backyard, so I know how important wildfire response is to rural communities like mine. It’s essential we remain fully staffed and ready ahead of fire season – not only by wildland firefighters, but also by those who support prevention activities and are certified to join fire lines. We need to work urgently to make our federal government a more effective steward of our hard-earned tax dollars and more financially self-sufficient, such as through responsibly harvesting timber, but across-the-board cuts come at the cost of local knowledge of our woods and the safety and economies of our rural communities.”

“For many communities in our districts, USFS firefighters and support personnel serve as their primary protection in the wildland urban interface,” wrote the lawmakers in the letter. “USFS also plays a critical role in reducing fire risk to nearby communities and smoke exposure to the entire region by implementing forest management, reducing fuel loads, conducting prescribed burns, and partnering with localities, states, nonprofit organizations and companies for these purposes.”

Terminations, cuts to probationary employees, and deferred resignations make it more difficult for the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument to collect permit fees, provide information and education, and steward safe trails and facilities. Crews and engineers in the region who execute timber sales were also affected by the firings. It has been reported that most of those terminated were “more likely to work boots-on-the-ground jobs” – and last year’s seasonal worker hiring freeze exacerbates these challenges.

Decreases in staffing also mean a decrease in available staff with red cards to support firefighting efforts, such as with the Williams Mine Fire in East Skamania County last fall. With the Administration implementing a federal hiring freeze earlier this year, firefighters in the Gifford Pinchot have expressed concerns about effects to their readiness, and wildland firefighters have reported waiting in limbo despite the U.S. Forest Service indicating public safety positions are exempted from the freeze.

“While public safety roles were supposedly exempted, we’re gravely concerned about reports that USFS staff who support wildfire response or mitigation, as well as staff with firefighting certifications that serve in roles with dual purposes, were terminated,” continued the lawmakers. “We request that you immediately reinstate terminated employees and refrain from further staff reductions such that USFS can carry out all wildland fire mitigation efforts designated by Congress, operate and maintain recreation services through the peak summer months, and have enough staff to support wildfire response during peak times. Thank you for your attention to this pressing matter.”

The lawmakers requested the U.S. Forest Service to provide:

• Information regarding terminated USFS employees, including their job titles, position descriptions, justification for termination, and occupational categories as determined by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
• The number of terminated employees that hold an Incident Qualification Card, commonly referred to as a Red Card, for wildland firefighting.
• Its plan to handle the influx of visitors expected over the rapidly approaching peak summer season with a depleted workforce.

Following the President’s Executive Order to increase domestic lumber production on federal lands, Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez expressed support for an approach that prioritizes small, independent logging, trucking, and mill operators.

The Congresswoman has voiced concerns with workforce cuts to Bonneville Power Administration that could reduce operational efficiency and to NOAA that could impact vital weather information fishermen rely on to stay safe on the water.

Full text of the letter can be found here.

Sens. Maria Cantwell (WA) and Patty Murray (WA) and Reps. Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Emily Randall (WA-06), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Adam Smith (WA-09), and Marilyn Strickland (WA-10) also signed onto the letter.