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employees in the U.S. Forest Service and Department of Interior left chaos and uncertainty after the latest assault on the federal workforce by the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. <p>For people on the ground in mountain communities, small towns and rural areas, the cuts were nothing short of devastating. They came with no explanation, warning or discernment, and the impact on public land and wildlife, observers say, will be felt for years. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img data-perfmatters-preload data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" width="780" height="1170" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GettyImages-2199372675.jpg?resize=780%2C1170&quality=100&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-331827" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GettyImages-2199372675.jpg?w=1667&quality=100&ssl=1 1667w, https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GettyImages-2199372675.jpg?resize=200%2C300&quality=100&ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GettyImages-2199372675.jpg?resize=1334%2C2000&quality=100&ssl=1 1334w, https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GettyImages-2199372675.jpg?resize=768%2C1152&quality=100&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GettyImages-2199372675.jpg?resize=1024%2C1536&quality=100&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GettyImages-2199372675.jpg?resize=1366%2C2048&quality=100&ssl=1 1366w, https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GettyImages-2199372675.jpg?resize=1200%2C1800&quality=100&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GettyImages-2199372675.jpg?resize=683%2C1024&quality=100&ssl=1 683w, https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GettyImages-2199372675.jpg?resize=1568%2C2352&quality=100&ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GettyImages-2199372675.jpg?resize=400%2C600&quality=100&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GettyImages-2199372675.jpg?w=370&quality=100&ssl=1 370w" sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">In this portrait of Cat Wood, a U.S. Forest Service employee who was terminated in the DOGE cutbacks, the “fork in the road” email is displayed on her cell phone on February 16, 2025, in Victor, Idaho. Wood worked in Montana as a forestry technician and spent much of her time educating the public about bear safety. She was notified that she was terminated by phone on Friday in what some are calling the “Valentine’s Day Massacre,” in which seven federal agencies carried out mass layoffs. <span class="image-credit"><span class="credit-label-wrapper">Credit:</span> Natalie Behring/Getty Images</span></figcaption></figure> <p>“It’s pretty hard to fathom,” said Claire Thompson, 35, a trail leader who was fired Friday afternoon after eight years with the U.S. Forest Service. “It feels like they’re punishing the people who least deserve it. We have chosen to stay in careers working for so little money. We are literally the boots on the ground, physically working all day.” <p>Jobs cut included park rangers and interpreters, National Environmental Policy Act coordinators, endangered species biologists, trail crews, maintenance staff and wastewater treatment operators. <p>Thompson and her partner, who was also fired on Friday, were co-leaders of the Wenatchee River Ranger District’s trail crew east of Seattle, Washington. They and their crew spent six months of each year clearing downed trees from hundreds of miles of trails, helping fight wildfires, coordinating volunteer efforts, and assisting with wildfire prevention work, among many other jobs. The Forest Service also fired the team’s mule packer who brought supplies into the wilderness for trail work, a front-country ranger, an office staff member, the rest of the trail crew and all but one of a team of wilderness rangers, according to Thompson. <p>Official counts of everyone fired across the country are still hazy, as many were still receiving termination emails over the holiday weekend, but early numbers show at least 3,400 people were fired from the Forest Service and about <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-lays-off-over-2000-workers-interior-department-sources-say-2025-02-14/">2,300 people from the Department of Interior,</a> the agency that oversees the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. </p><div style='margin:5px auto; margin-bottom: 15px;' id='zone_load_1859459825'><broadstreet-zone place="0" callback="zone_load_1859459825" zone-id="152908" keywords="not_home_page,not_landing_page,is_article_page,articles,people-brace-for-impacts-on-land-water-and-wildlife-after-feds-fire-thousands-over-holiday-weekend,post" soft-keywords="true" zone-alias=""></broadstreet-zone></div><script>window.zone_load_1859459825 = function(z, d) { if (!d.count) document.getElementById('zone_load_1859459825').style.display = 'none'; };</script> <p>Most of the employees were “probationary,” which meant they had been in their current positions for less than one year. While some were new employees of their agencies, many others, like Thompson and her trail crew, worked for the federal government for years but had recently been promoted to new positions. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"> <p>“It feels like they’re punishing the people who least deserve it.” </blockquote> <p>“This is super specialized work, and a lot of it is because of the remote nature of it,” Thompson said. “We’re experienced veteran employees. It’s not something you can hire a random contractor to do.” <p>A Western biologist who agreed to speak with <em>High Country News</em> on the condition of anonymity because of fears of retribution, said they made more money in the private sector but saw a dream job in the position as a biologist working with fisheries and riparian ecosystems at the Interior Department. <p>The biologist worked seasonal gigs in the federal government for 12 years before leaving for the private sector and returning to Interior in a permanent role last summer. <p>They understand agencies reorganize and cut staff when administrations change, but the biologist said these mass firings were indiscriminate — not targeted or thoughtful reductions. <p>“These are dedicated career employees who have worked through several administrations. I worked through the first Trump administration. We’re not partisan,” they said. “We just put our heads down and do our work.” <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"> <p>“These are dedicated career employees who have worked through several administrations. I worked through the first Trump administration. We’re not partisan.” </blockquote> <p>And adding insult to injury, everyone <em>HCN </em>talked with received the same email stating that they were being fired for performance issues. The email from Forest Service Human Resources Director Deedra Fogle read, “You have not demonstrated that your further employment at the Agency would be in the public interest.” But each person <em>HCN</em> spoke with who was fired also stated their annual reviews were all positive, and some hope to work with unions and attorneys to challenge the terminations. </p><div style='margin:5px auto; margin-bottom: 15px;' id='zone_load_384264875'><broadstreet-zone place="1" callback="zone_load_384264875" zone-id="152908" keywords="not_home_page,not_landing_page,is_article_page,articles,people-brace-for-impacts-on-land-water-and-wildlife-after-feds-fire-thousands-over-holiday-weekend,post" soft-keywords="true" zone-alias=""></broadstreet-zone></div><script>window.zone_load_384264875 = function(z, d) { if (!d.count) document.getElementById('zone_load_384264875').style.display = 'none'; };</script> <figure class="wp-block-embed alignright is-type-wp-embed is-provider-high-country-news wp-block-embed-high-country-news"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="nzp2ei4UVS"><a href="https://www.hcn.org/articles/how-another-donald-trump-term-could-dismantle-federal-agencies/">How another Donald Trump term could dismantle federal agencies</a></blockquote><iframe class="wp-embedded-content perfmatters-lazy" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden;" title="“How another Donald Trump term could dismantle federal agencies” — High Country News" data-secret="nzp2ei4UVS" width="600" height="338" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" data-src="https://www.hcn.org/articles/how-another-donald-trump-term-could-dismantle-federal-agencies/embed/#?secret=mqahaLfbFE#?secret=nzp2ei4UVS"></iframe><noscript><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden;" title="“How another Donald Trump term could dismantle federal agencies” — High Country News" src="https://www.hcn.org/articles/how-another-donald-trump-term-could-dismantle-federal-agencies/embed/#?secret=mqahaLfbFE#?secret=nzp2ei4UVS" data-secret="nzp2ei4UVS" width="600" height="338" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></noscript> </div></figure> <p>President Donald Trump repeatedly distanced himself from the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 while on the campaign trail, but efforts to slash agencies like the BLM <a href="https://www.hcn.org/articles/how-another-donald-trump-term-could-dismantle-federal-agencies/">are straight from its playbook</a>. Cuts to recreation employees, however, seem contrary to portions of Trump’s first term when he signed the <a href="https://www.hcn.org/articles/climate-desk-public-lands-the-great-american-outdoors-act-passes-senate-with-bipartisan-support/">Great American Outdoors Act</a> that increased support and funding for public lands including deferred maintenance in national parks. <p>The White House announced the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/implementing-the-presidents-department-of-government-efficiency-workforce-optimization-initiative/">“workforce optimization initiative”</a> on February 11 as part of an executive order to be more efficient and save money. But the jobs they cut, Thompson said, aren’t going to save them much. Thompson, never made more than $22 an hour. <p>In fact, the Park Service alone <a href="https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/national-parks-contributed-record-high-$55-6-billion-to-u-s-economy-supported-415-000-jobs-in-2023.htm">contributes $55.6 billion</a> to the national economy but spends only one-fifteenth of 1% of the federal budget, said Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of the National Parks Conservation Association. And as people gear up for spring break and summers spent outside, they may well find shuttered and understaffed visitor centers, closed campgrounds, overflowing toilets and impassable trails, she said. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" width="780" height="1067" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/c24c6e73-9cff-4a57-8344-566c0f8464cbOriginal.jpg?resize=780%2C1067&quality=100&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-331825" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/c24c6e73-9cff-4a57-8344-566c0f8464cbOriginal.jpg?resize=1462%2C2000&quality=100&ssl=1 1462w, https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/c24c6e73-9cff-4a57-8344-566c0f8464cbOriginal.jpg?resize=219%2C300&quality=100&ssl=1 219w, https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/c24c6e73-9cff-4a57-8344-566c0f8464cbOriginal.jpg?resize=768%2C1051&quality=100&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/c24c6e73-9cff-4a57-8344-566c0f8464cbOriginal.jpg?resize=1123%2C1536&quality=100&ssl=1 1123w, https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/c24c6e73-9cff-4a57-8344-566c0f8464cbOriginal.jpg?resize=1497%2C2048&quality=100&ssl=1 1497w, https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/c24c6e73-9cff-4a57-8344-566c0f8464cbOriginal.jpg?resize=1200%2C1642&quality=100&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/c24c6e73-9cff-4a57-8344-566c0f8464cbOriginal.jpg?resize=748%2C1024&quality=100&ssl=1 748w, https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/c24c6e73-9cff-4a57-8344-566c0f8464cbOriginal.jpg?resize=1568%2C2146&quality=100&ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/c24c6e73-9cff-4a57-8344-566c0f8464cbOriginal.jpg?resize=400%2C547&quality=100&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/c24c6e73-9cff-4a57-8344-566c0f8464cbOriginal.jpg?w=1827&quality=100&ssl=1 1827w, https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/c24c6e73-9cff-4a57-8344-566c0f8464cbOriginal-1462x2000.jpg?w=370&quality=100&ssl=1 370w" sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ranger Emily Gamboa helps a visitor at the information desk at Zion National Park in Utah. <span class="image-credit"><span class="credit-label-wrapper">Credit:</span> Courtesy of NPS/Abi Farish</span></figcaption></figure> <p>Kate White co-lead the wilderness program on the Wenatchee River Ranger District in Washington. The group maintained 30 backcountry toilets and packed out 1,000 piles of improperly disposed human waste each season in the Enchantment Special Use Permit Area in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, one of the busiest and most fragile areas in the state. They also carried out hundreds of pounds of garbage on their backs, educated visitors, helped with search and rescue, and assisted in wildland firefighting. <p>The cuts expanded beyond trail crews, rangers and biologists. <p>Cody Anderson was the NEPA coordinator and wilderness manager in the Wrangell Ranger District in the Tongass National Forest. He made sure projects followed the law and could get done. He said he worked seasonal jobs with the BLM with “above satisfactory” reviews before landing a permanent job with the Forest Service seven months ago. He was fired Thursday along with six other Forest Service employees in the 2,000-person town of Wrangell, Alaska. <p>“I’m suffering, and I have a bunch of friends who are suffering,” he said. “But at the end of the day, it’s these wilderness areas that will suffer as well.” <p><em>We welcome reader letters. Email </em>High Country News<em> at </em><a href="mailto:editor@hcn.org"><em>editor@hcn.org</em></a><em> or submit a </em><a href="https://www.hcn.org/feedback/contact-us"><em>letter to the editor</em></a><em>. 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Send a link to <a href="mailto:syndication@hcn.org">syndication@hcn.org</a> once you’ve republished the story and let us know how it’s resonating with your readers.</li> </ul></div><div class="article-info"><h1>People brace for impacts on land, water and wildlife after feds fire thousands over holiday weekend</h1> <p class="byline">by Christine Peterson, High Country News <br />February 17, 2025</p> </div> <textarea readonly id="republication-tracker-tool-shareable-content" rows="5"> <h1>People brace for impacts on land, water and wildlife after feds fire thousands over holiday weekend</h1> <p class="byline">by Christine Peterson, High Country News <br />February 17, 2025</p> <p>A President’s Day weekend swept by fear and grief from the sudden termination of thousands of federal employees in the U.S. Forest Service and Department of Interior left chaos and uncertainty after the latest assault on the federal workforce by the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.</p> <p>For people on the ground in mountain communities, small towns and rural areas, the cuts were nothing short of devastating. They came with no explanation, warning or discernment, and the impact on public land and wildlife, observers say, will be felt for years.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GettyImages-2199372675.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-331827" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">In this portrait of Cat Wood, a U.S. Forest Service employee who was terminated in the DOGE cutbacks, the "fork in the road" email is displayed on her cell phone on February 16, 2025, in Victor, Idaho. Wood worked in Montana as a forestry technician and spent much of her time educating the public about bear safety. She was notified that she was terminated by phone on Friday in what some are calling the "Valentine's Day Massacre," in which seven federal agencies carried out mass layoffs.</figcaption></figure> <p>“It’s pretty hard to fathom,” said Claire Thompson, 35, a trail leader who was fired Friday afternoon after eight years with the U.S. Forest Service. “It feels like they’re punishing the people who least deserve it. We have chosen to stay in careers working for so little money. We are literally the boots on the ground, physically working all day.”</p> <p>Jobs cut included park rangers and interpreters, National Environmental Policy Act coordinators, endangered species biologists, trail crews, maintenance staff and wastewater treatment operators.</p> <p>Thompson and her partner, who was also fired on Friday, were co-leaders of the Wenatchee River Ranger District’s trail crew east of Seattle, Washington. They and their crew spent six months of each year clearing downed trees from hundreds of miles of trails, helping fight wildfires, coordinating volunteer efforts, and assisting with wildfire prevention work, among many other jobs. The Forest Service also fired the team’s mule packer who brought supplies into the wilderness for trail work, a front-country ranger, an office staff member, the rest of the trail crew and all but one of a team of wilderness rangers, according to Thompson.</p> <p>Official counts of everyone fired across the country are still hazy, as many were still receiving termination emails over the holiday weekend, but early numbers show at least 3,400 people were fired from the Forest Service and about <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-lays-off-over-2000-workers-interior-department-sources-say-2025-02-14/">2,300 people from the Department of Interior,</a> the agency that oversees the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.</p> <p>Most of the employees were “probationary,” which meant they had been in their current positions for less than one year. While some were new employees of their agencies, many others, like Thompson and her trail crew, worked for the federal government for years but had recently been promoted to new positions.</p> <blockquote class="wp-block-quote"> <p>“It feels like they’re punishing the people who least deserve it." </p> </blockquote> <p>“This is super specialized work, and a lot of it is because of the remote nature of it,” Thompson said. “We’re experienced veteran employees. It’s not something you can hire a random contractor to do.”</p> <p>A Western biologist who agreed to speak with <em>High Country News</em> on the condition of anonymity because of fears of retribution, said they made more money in the private sector but saw a dream job in the position as a biologist working with fisheries and riparian ecosystems at the Interior Department.</p> <p>The biologist worked seasonal gigs in the federal government for 12 years before leaving for the private sector and returning to Interior in a permanent role last summer.</p> <p>They understand agencies reorganize and cut staff when administrations change, but the biologist said these mass firings were indiscriminate — not targeted or thoughtful reductions.</p> <p>“These are dedicated career employees who have worked through several administrations. I worked through the first Trump administration. We're not partisan,” they said. “We just put our heads down and do our work.”</p> <blockquote class="wp-block-quote"> <p>“These are dedicated career employees who have worked through several administrations. I worked through the first Trump administration. We're not partisan.” </p> </blockquote> <p>And adding insult to injury, everyone <em>HCN </em>talked with received the same email stating that they were being fired for performance issues. The email from Forest Service Human Resources Director Deedra Fogle read, “You have not demonstrated that your further employment at the Agency would be in the public interest.” But each person <em>HCN</em> spoke with who was fired also stated their annual reviews were all positive, and some hope to work with unions and attorneys to challenge the terminations.</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed alignright is-type-wp-embed is-provider-high-country-news wp-block-embed-high-country-news"> <div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.hcn.org/articles/how-another-donald-trump-term-could-dismantle-federal-agencies/ </div> </figure> <p>President Donald Trump repeatedly distanced himself from the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 while on the campaign trail, but efforts to slash agencies like the BLM <a href="https://www.hcn.org/articles/how-another-donald-trump-term-could-dismantle-federal-agencies/">are straight from its playbook</a>. Cuts to recreation employees, however, seem contrary to portions of Trump’s first term when he signed the <a href="https://www.hcn.org/articles/climate-desk-public-lands-the-great-american-outdoors-act-passes-senate-with-bipartisan-support/">Great American Outdoors Act</a> that increased support and funding for public lands including deferred maintenance in national parks.</p> <p>The White House announced the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/implementing-the-presidents-department-of-government-efficiency-workforce-optimization-initiative/">“workforce optimization initiative”</a> on February 11 as part of an executive order to be more efficient and save money. But the jobs they cut, Thompson said, aren’t going to save them much. Thompson, never made more than $22 an hour.</p> <p>In fact, the Park Service alone <a href="https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/national-parks-contributed-record-high-$55-6-billion-to-u-s-economy-supported-415-000-jobs-in-2023.htm">contributes $55.6 billion</a> to the national economy but spends only one-fifteenth of 1% of the federal budget, said Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of the National Parks Conservation Association. And as people gear up for spring break and summers spent outside, they may well find shuttered and understaffed visitor centers, closed campgrounds, overflowing toilets and impassable trails, she said.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/c24c6e73-9cff-4a57-8344-566c0f8464cbOriginal-1462x2000.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-331825" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ranger Emily Gamboa helps a visitor at the information desk at Zion National Park in Utah.</figcaption></figure> <p>Kate White co-lead the wilderness program on the Wenatchee River Ranger District in Washington. The group maintained 30 backcountry toilets and packed out 1,000 piles of improperly disposed human waste each season in the Enchantment Special Use Permit Area in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, one of the busiest and most fragile areas in the state. They also carried out hundreds of pounds of garbage on their backs, educated visitors, helped with search and rescue, and assisted in wildland firefighting.</p> <p>The cuts expanded beyond trail crews, rangers and biologists.</p> <p>Cody Anderson was the NEPA coordinator and wilderness manager in the Wrangell Ranger District in the Tongass National Forest. He made sure projects followed the law and could get done. He said he worked seasonal jobs with the BLM with “above satisfactory” reviews before landing a permanent job with the Forest Service seven months ago. He was fired Thursday along with six other Forest Service employees in the 2,000-person town of Wrangell, Alaska.</p> <p>“I’m suffering, and I have a bunch of friends who are suffering,” he said. “But at the end of the day, it’s these wilderness areas that will suffer as well.”</p> <p><em>We welcome reader letters. Email </em>High Country News<em> at </em><a href="mailto:editor@hcn.org"><em>editor@hcn.org</em></a><em> or submit a </em><a href="https://www.hcn.org/feedback/contact-us"><em>letter to the editor</em></a><em>. See our </em><a href="https://www.hcn.org/policies/lte"><em>letters to the editor policy</em></a><em>.</em></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.hcn.org/articles/people-brace-for-impacts-on-land-water-and-wildlife-after-feds-fire-thousands-over-holiday-weekend/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.hcn.org&quot;&gt;High Country News&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/cropped-HCN_Logo-Monogram_White_Sq-2.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;quality=100&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;&lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://www.hcn.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=331828&amp;amp;ga4=G-0NS3WVPPTN&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://www.hcn.org/articles/people-brace-for-impacts-on-land-water-and-wildlife-after-feds-fire-thousands-over-holiday-weekend/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/hcn.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;</p> </textarea> <button onclick="copyToClipboard('#republication-tracker-tool-shareable-content', this)">Copy to Clipboard</button> </div>1 </div> </div> <footer class="entry-footer"> <span class="tags-links"><span>Tagged: </span><a href="https://www.hcn.org/topic/bureau-of-land-management/" rel="tag">Bureau of Land Management</a><span class="sep">, </span><a href="https://www.hcn.org/topic/department-of-interior/" rel="tag">Department of Interior</a><span class="sep">, </span><a href="https://www.hcn.org/topic/donald-trump/" rel="tag">Donald Trump</a><span class="sep">, </span><a href="https://www.hcn.org/topic/labor/" rel="tag">Labor</a><span class="sep">, </span><a href="https://www.hcn.org/topic/public-lands/" rel="tag">Public Lands</a><span class="sep">, </span><a href="https://www.hcn.org/topic/u-s-fish-wildlife/" rel="tag">U.S. Fish & Wildlife</a><span class="sep">, </span><a href="https://www.hcn.org/topic/u-s-forest-service/" rel="tag">U.S. Forest Service</a><span class="sep">, </span><a href="https://www.hcn.org/topic/web-exclusive/" rel="tag">Web exclusive</a></span> </footer> <div class="author-bio"> <div class="author-bio-text"> <div class="author-bio-header"> <div> <h2 class="accent-header"> <a href="https://www.hcn.org/author/christine-peterson/" rel="author"> Christine Peterson </a> </h2> <div class="author-meta"> </div> </div> </div> <p>Christine Peterson lives in Laramie, Wyoming, and has covered science, the environment and outdoor recreation in Wyoming for more than a decade. 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