Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Fired Forest Service employees must be temporarily rehired
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Thursday, March 6, 2025
USDA Forest Service photo by Preston Keres ([link removed])
Thousands of fired probationary workers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including Forest Service employees, will get their jobs back ([link removed]) for at least 45 days while a federal review board determines the legality of the firings. The Merit Systems Protection Board, which hears appeals by federal government employees when they are fired or disciplined, found that the recent dismissal of over 5,600 probationary employees may have violated federal law. The Trump administration may place the reinstated workers on administrative leave or fire them again as part of a formal “reduction in force,” according to Politico ([link removed]) .
In the meantime, President Donald Trump is working to dismantle ([link removed]) the Merit Systems Protection Board. He attempted to remove ([link removed]) Cathy Harris, a Democrat, from the board the day before she issued the USDA ruling.
DOGE plans to shutter Interior department offices across the West
The Department of Government Efficiency has announced plans to cancel leases ([link removed]) and auction off federally-owned buildings ([link removed]) deemed "not core to government operations," including many that house Interior Department offices across the West.
A list ([link removed]) of leases ([link removed]) compiled by Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee found DOGE plans to shutter over 2 million square feet ([link removed]) of office space used by Interior department agencies, including over 30 National Park Service offices, over 40 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Offices, and over 30 U.S. Geological Survey offices.
A separate list ([link removed]) of over 400 "non-core" properties identified for auction by DOGE was published Tuesday but taken down ([link removed]) on Wednesday. That list included the Tucson Federal Building, which houses Forest Service employees ([link removed]) , Denver Federal Center Building 50, which houses Bureau of Land Management employees ([link removed]) , the Dennis Chavez Federal Building in Albuquerque, which houses U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees
([link removed]) , and the Seattle Federal Office Building, which houses National Park Service employees ([link removed]) , among many others.
** Quick hits
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These national parks have been hit hardest by DOGE firings
Axios ([link removed])
Grand County ranchers will receive almost $350,000 in compensation for animals lost to wolves last year
Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Trump Interior chief’s ties to oil tycoon Harold Hamm run deep
Public Domain ([link removed])
The rise of the recreation economy in the West
High Country News ([link removed])
Trump wants to use the 'God Squad' to increase logging, but must follow strict rules
Associated Press ([link removed])
Loss of federal workers will have a huge impact on fire operations this season
Life With Fire ([link removed]) [podcast]
Trump’s energy czar plans to map U.S. oil bounty
Bloomberg ([link removed])
The DOGE cuts are a local news story, too
Columbia Journalism Review ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” Idaho fancies itself a small-government state, but it no longer feels detached from Washington... This is affecting people in their day-to-day lives, and it’s affecting the public lands that define the Idaho experience.”
—Royce McCandless ([link removed]) , Idaho Press reporter
** Picture This
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@usinterior ([link removed])
As the sun dips below the horizon, the desert glows in the fading light. Nestled between the Painted Desert and the ponderosa highlands of northern Arizona, a window in the Wupatki Pueblo reveals stories from the past.
Visiting Wupatki National Monument in Arizona leaves one in awe of those who once lived there. For Indigenous peoples, these sites represent the footprints of their ancestors. Though unoccupied today, these stone homes remain woven into their history and enduring cultural heritage.
Photos by Stephen Probert and NPS
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