Washington-based U.S. Forest Service rangers reinstated -- for now
Like many federal workers caught up in layoffs or other actions by the Trump administration, U.S. Forest Service workers find themselves in limbo with little information about what the future may hold. Though, for now, at least they’ll have a job again.
Many workers still in their probationary period received notice on Feb. 13 that they were fired by the Trump administration. But this week, those workers got word they have been temporarily reinstated for 45 days by the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board on March 5. But Forest Service rangers like Kyle Warden, Xander Demetrios and Jaelle Downs say they know very little beyond that, and haven’t been notified on the local level about when their work will resume, just weeks away from the beginning of the 2025 season. There’s no information yet to indicate whether the positions might be eliminated again after the 45-day period, and the workers worry about what impact a potential mid-season disruption might have on recreation and public safety.
For 10 years Warden, 39, had been the lead wilderness ranger at the Wenatchee River Ranger District in Leavenworth, tasked with patrolling and monitoring the nearly 400,000 acres of pristine alpine back-country in the Enchantments wilderness area. He said the Enchantments alone see 100,000 visitors annually, and as of last month, all but a handful of the trail crew, rangers, front desk staff and developed front country rangers were fired as part of the Feb 13 announcement. Those positions are seasonal, and some would have already begun work, while others would have started in the coming weeks. Warden says he would have worked the past few weeks overseeing the permit lottery for the Enchantments and running training webinars.
While the layoffs affected only employees still in their probationary period, in the case of U.S. Forest Service workers, Warden said they actually meant laying off veteran employees. Because the positions are almost all seasonal, he and many others who had been in these roles for many years had technically not worked more than two years in aggregate.
https://www.cascadepbs.org/environment/2025/03/washington-based-us-forest-service-rangers-reinstated-now