The Trump administration’s decision to fire more than 4,400 civil servants, including 3,400 U.S. Forest Service and 1,000 National Park Service employees, is appalling and dangerous. The men and women who have dedicated their lives and careers to the care of our public lands deserve better, and so do the people of Southwest Washington.
As the executive director of Cascade Forest Conservancy, a local conservation nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting forests, streams, wildlife and communities in our region, I don’t always agree with the decisions and policies of the affected agencies. In fact, a significant part of my organization's work has involved pushing back against certain aspects of land management projects, such as timber sales, when we believe project planners have gone too far or overlooked negative impacts to sensitive ecosystems or wildlife populations.
Despite this, I, and all of us at Cascade Forest Conservancy, hold deep respect for the federal workers who have committed their careers to serving the public good by caring for our public lands. While we sometimes disagree on the best approaches to this task, we recognize that we are all ultimately working toward the same objective: to ensure that our parks, forests, rivers and wildlife populations remain healthy and continue to support the public good for both the present and future generations.
Contrary to assertions made by the Trump administration and DOGE, these warrantless dismissals will not increase the efficiency of agencies, improve the lives of Americans, or save taxpayers’ money. They will do the exact opposite. The implementation of the recent mass firings of federal workers has been arbitrary, chaotic, disorganized and cruel. In addition to harming thousands of individuals and their families, these actions are likely to severely impact the ability of federal agencies to steward lands for which they are responsible. This will leave Southwest Washington more vulnerable to the impacts of fires, droughts and other extreme events. These actions are also harmful to rural communities where federal jobs and outdoor recreation are vital to local economies, including many communities in Clark, Lewis, Cowlitz and Skamania counties.
We, and others, are concerned that these actions, which aim to kneecap federal agencies, who are already operating on limited budgets with minimal staff, will hinder or even render these agencies nonfunctional, thereby providing justification for the sale of our public lands.
What is happening is a disgrace and is wrong. Attacking civil servants working to steward our shared heritage threatens our public resources, makes our communities less safe and impoverishes us all.
Please join Cascade Forest Conservancy and me in standing with civil servants within the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and other federal agencies harmed by these unwarranted and reckless actions by calling or emailing your local and national elected officials. Tell them you stand with public servants and do not support these efforts to undermine our public lands.
Molly Whitney
Executive Director
Cascade Forest Conservancy
