ACT NOW and use America Outdoors' email alert system to let your member of Congress know about the ramifications and consequences of the sudden loss of public lands agency personnel, especially recreation-related staff. With a few quick clicks and a personal message your language will be off to your congressional delegation.
The reduction in workforce order and elimination of probationary employees has led to the loss of several positions, including recently promoted personnel. Senior staff, including national staff, are resigning from their posts.
- Closures at recreation destinations will have an immediate adverse impact on rural economies.
- Permits for commercial recreation permits will not likely be processed as they require agency personnel to administer existing outfitters and to process new applications, which permittees pay the cost recovery for processing.
- Clearing of downed trees, erosion mitigation, and other routine trail maintenance activities to maintain public access and minimize hazards, which is primarily done by seasonal staff, will be only minimally addressed. Wind events and fire events can block access to vast swaths of public lands, and trails must be cleared annually.
While the National Park Service has been cleared to hire seasonal workers and USDA probationary positions are being restored, there are still thousands of vacant recreation-related positions across public land management agencies. Agencies are able to hire for some positions, such as Wildland firefighters, law enforcement officers, and search and rescue personnel, but other positions either directly or tangentially significant to outdoor recreation programming, resources, infrastructure & maintenance remain unfilled.
Members of Congress across both parties and both houses need to hear from you about how the lack of personnel will effect your operation. Please take a moment and got to our call to action to send an email to your congressional delegation and ask them to continue to appeal to the Trump Administration to restore probationary personnel and lift the hiring freeze on seasonal personnel, especially at individual national forests, BLM field offices, USFWS refuges, and National Park Service sites.
Take Action!