Federal forestry changes leave state officials in the lurch
The state’s Department of Natural Resources says it’s coming up with backup plans to address the growing threat of serious wildfires in Washington. This, as it's typically close working relationship with federal forest managers has frayed under the Trump Administration.
Some of this started in mid-February, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut thousands of probationary employees at the U.S. Forest Service. The USDA is in charge of stewarding places like the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and the Gifford-Pinchot National Forest.
Altogether, about 2,000 employees across the country were fired. The USDA emphasized that no “operational firefighters” had been let go, and argued the critical work of responding to wildfires would not be interrupted.
But an organization called Grassroots Wildland Firefighters estimated that three-quarters of the employees laid off had secondary wildland firefighting duties, meaning firefighting wasn’t their primary job, but they were pulled in to fight fires as needed.
Soundside has heard directly from laid off workers at the Forest Service based here in Washington who have wildland firefighting certifications of various levels. They say they are in limbo right now, even after there have been multiple court orders to reinstate fired federal workers -- at least, temporarily. They’re ringing alarm bells about the loss of manpower for this fire season.
All of this puts Washington’s DNR into a tough spot. The department oversees wildfire prevention and response on state lands, usually working closely with the federal government. Soundside was joined by Dave Upthegrove, Washington's Commissioner of Public Lands, and State Forester George Geissler.
Guests:
- Dave Upthegrove, Washington's Commissioner of Public Lands
- State Forester George Geissler
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Libby Denkmann
Host, Soundside
Libby Denkmann joined KUOW in December 2021 as the host of the midday show Soundside. She’s a native Pacific Northwesterner who grew up in Redmond, graduated from the University of Washington, and covered local news as a producer and reporter with KIRO Radio.
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Alec Cowan
Producer, Soundside
Alec Cowan is a producer for Soundside. His interests have brought many eclectic stories to the program, and his segments gravitate toward history, technology, arts and culture, and the environment. He's proud to be KUOW's unofficial "boat guy."
More stories from Alec Cowan »
