Murray has been a leading voice raising the alarm on Trump and Musk’s indiscriminate mass firings that are hurting people in Washington state and across the country— holding multiple press calls with fired federal workers including former U.S. Forest Service employees
Washington, D.C. — Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, joined U.S. Representatives Kim Schrier (D-WA-08), Rick Larsen (D-WA-02), and others in sending a letter last week to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins and U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz, underscoring how Trump and Elon’s move to indiscriminately terminate hundreds of United States Forest Service (USFS) employees will be devastating to Washington state and calling for the Administration to refrain from further cuts to federal workers that could negatively affect timber production, wildfire readiness, and recreation in the state.
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 a crucial component in reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires. As a part of the Trump 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.
“For many communities in our districts, USFS firefighters and support personnel serve as their primary protection in the wildland urban interface,” wrote the lawmakers. “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 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.
Full text of the letter can be found here.
In addition to Senator Murray and Reps. Schrier, and Larsen, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D, WA-03), Suzan DelBene (D, WA-01), Emily Randall (D, WA-06), Pramila Jayapal (D, WA-07), Adam Smith (D, WA-09), and Marilyn Strickland (D, WA-10) also signed onto the letter.
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