Photo: New York Forest Rangers return from battling wildfires in Canada. (NYS Department of Environmental Conservation)
By Kate Groetzinger
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s decision that temporarily blocked the mass firing of federal agency workers on Tuesday. The decision could result in job losses for tens of thousands of employees across the federal government, including drastic cuts at the Interior department and U.S. Forest Service.
In February, President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to conduct mass layoffs and reorganizations as part of his administration’s effort to shrink the federal workforce. The American Federation of Government Employees, along with 11 nonprofit organizations and six local governments in California, Texas, and Illinois, filed suit on the grounds that it was unlawful for the president to unilaterally dismantle federal agencies created by Congress. In May, a federal judge in California temporarily halted Trump’s plans, saying the administration must partner on any mass federal agency reorganization with Congress, which creates, funds, and provides direction to federal agencies.
The Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Senior Director of Advocacy Lauren Bogard:
“Americans are already feeling the impacts of diminished staffing, resources, and services on their parks and public lands across the country in the form of reduced visitor center hours, overflowing trash cans and toilets, and heightened safety risks. If the Interior Department or Forest Service move ahead with more indiscriminate firings during the height of summer vacations and as wildfire season gets underway, the chaos could cause irreversible damage to America’s parks and public lands, and the federal agencies that care for them.”
Learn more:
Supreme Court allows Trump to launch mass layoff and restructuring plans – Washington Post
Supreme Court clears way for mass firings at federal agencies – New York Times
2025 Conservation in the West Poll – Colorado College State of the Rockies Project
Kate Groetzinger is Communications Manager, Center for Western Priorities