Concern grows in Colorado mountain towns as US Forest Service freezes hiring of some seasonal workers

The U.S. Forest Service has announced a nationwide hiring freeze on all seasonal workers who are not working because of the layoffs, a decision that could have negative consequences for mountain communities in Colorado, where vast tracts of land are national forests.

One-fifth of Colorado consists of lands owned by the US Forest Service. In places like Summit County, where the White River National Forest makes up 85% of the county, the federal government manages most of the local land.

Traditionally, seasonal Forest Service crews performed field work in many of these communities, from trail maintenance to campsite patrols, visitor education, and fieldwork.

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At a Breckenridge City Council meeting in October, Councilman Jay Beckerman described the impact of the Forest Service hiring freeze this way: “We’re going to be relying on our employees, we’re going to be relying on volunteer organizations to do some of the jobs that were previously done by seasonal summer forestry workers.”

Many West Slope governments say these seasonal Forest Service personnel are critical, and some communities have for years provided local funds to support seasonal hiring by the federal agency. But now community leaders aren’t sure if the Forest Service plans to hire even those seasonal positions supported by local dollars.

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In Summit County, voters in 2018 passed Measure 1A, known as the Strong Futures Initiative, which increased the levy on local mills to raise funds for early childhood education, behavioral health, community infrastructure, recycling and wildfire mitigation.

In 2023, nearly $750,000 in taxpayer funds raised through the Strong Futures Initiative went to the US Forest Service’s Summit County Seasonal Wildfire Mitigation and Education Program, with most of that money going directly to the federal agency to hire seasonal staff

Summit County Commissioner Tamara Pogue said the Dillon local ranger district is the busiest ranger district in the nation’s busiest national forest. According to the county government, these Strong Future funds support 12 to 18 seasonal Forest Service employees each year. Pogue said it is her understanding that these local funds pay the full salary for at least some of these seasonal positions.

“Summit County voters passed (the Strong Future initiative) because the White River National Forest was so understaffed that these critical functions were not being performed,” Pogue said. “We’ve literally been paying for them because the federal government isn’t doing its job.”

The US Forest Service has suspended hiring

US Forest Service Chief Randy Moore announced in September that the federal agency will not hire any seasonal employees, other than seasonal firefighter positions, in fiscal year 2025.

During a conversation with Forest Service officials, Moore explained that the hiring decision was made because the federal agency plans to use “the most conservative funding option.” He said the Forest Service recently converted 1,300 to 1,400 seasonal positions to permanent seasonal positions, but acknowledged the hiring freeze means the federal agency won’t be able to handle the same amount of work it has in years past.

“We just can’t do the same amount of work with fewer employees,” Moore said. “So, in other words, we’re going to do the best we can with what we’ve got. We’re not going to try to do everything that’s expected of us with fewer people.”

There is a forest service currently using House Interior Subcommittee funding levels proposed for FY 2025 to guide hiring decisions. A spending bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives gave the federal agency about half a billion dollars less than it requested.

In the meantime, the federal agency has used up additional funding it received through the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan Infrastructure Act, Moore said. According to him, the rising cost of living also caused the budget crisis.

The U.S. Forest Service office in Washington, D.C., confirmed in an emailed statement that the hiring freeze is in effect in the Rocky Mountain region, which covers Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and most of Wyoming and South Dakota.

The statement said: “We understand that this will have an impact that will affect all national forests.”

Local funds are at stake

U.S. Forest Service regional press officer Donna Nemeth said in an email that the Dillon Ranger District has hired 44 seasonal employees in 2024.

As for the Strong Futures Initiative, Nemeth said two positions supported by the local foundation will be hired next summer because they are considered “series of fire” workers. But the other positions supported by those local dollars are “recreational technicians” that focus on fire prevention and education and currently won’t be hiring next summer, she said.

“The Dillon Ranger District is grateful to our invaluable partners like Summit County Government, and we are looking for ways to continue to fulfill our commitment to the community,” Nemeth said. “In the near term, our focus is on making sure we can pay for our existing employees.”

Pogue said Summit County government remains hopeful the Forest Service will lay off those seasonal workers funded by local taxpayers. She noted that the federal agency granted an exemption to the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, but it is not known whether such grace will be extended to others.

“Locally, we have an incredible relationship with our field staff who live in our community,” Pogue said. “But there seems to be a disconnect with Washington that understands how important this work is to our community.”

Summit County Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons said his department works closely with seasonal Forest Service officers who patrol campgrounds and other national forests. FitzSimmons said Summit County has “already suffered” because the Forest Service has consistently understaffed local federal law enforcement officers.

“If we don’t have our federal seasonal partners, that puts an extra burden on us,” FitzSimons said. “We’re also understaffed.”

Seasonal staff affected by the hiring freeze are critical to the county’s fire safety strategy, FitzSimons said. These seasonal workers spend the summer patrolling national forest areas, dismantling unauthorized campsites and putting out unattended campfires that could start wildfires, he said.

Pogue said the purpose of the Strong Futures Initiative funds to support seasonal Forest Service workers is to help reduce the risk of wildfires. She said if Summit County is funding the positions, it shouldn’t have any impact on the Forest Service budget.

“While I really appreciate their commitment to actually fighting fires, we also want to be partners in prevention,” Pogue said. “When the fire starts, it’s too late. When the taxpayers of Summit County provide the funds to hire these people, why not allow us to continue to do so?”

Summit County isn’t the only one helping fund seasonal U.S. Forest Service personnel. In Eagle County, the county government, along with the city of Vail and other local entities, provide funding to the Forest Service for the Advanced Ranger Program, which provides visitor services.

Eagle County Director of Open Space and Natural Resources Marcia Gilles, who oversees the county’s Front Country Ranger program, said the Forest Service asked the county to “consider the flexibility of our agreement to fund permanent salaries.” Gilles said the county has told the Forest Service it does not want to pay for permanent salaries, but will explore other options for the program.

Meanwhile, in Pitkin County, county government, the city of Aspen and a local nonprofit pay $125,000 annually for two full-time, permanent seasonal positions and one summer seasonal position. Pitkin County Communications Manager Alisin Bektesh said the county government is encouraging the Forest Service to maintain the partnership in 2025 and “hopefully the agreement will continue.”