Fired Forest Service employees must be temporarily rehired
Thursday, March 6, 2025
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Thousands of fired probationary workers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including Forest Service employees, will get their jobs back 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.
In the meantime, President Donald Trump is working to dismantle the Merit Systems Protection Board. He attempted to remove 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 and auction off federally-owned buildings deemed "not core to government operations," including many that house Interior Department offices across the West.
A list of leases compiled by Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee found DOGE plans to shutter over 2 million square feet 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 of over 400 "non-core" properties identified for auction by DOGE was published Tuesday but taken down on Wednesday. That list included the Tucson Federal Building, which houses Forest Service employees, Denver Federal Center Building 50, which houses Bureau of Land Management employees, the Dennis Chavez Federal Building in Albuquerque, which houses U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees, and the Seattle Federal Office Building, which houses National Park Service employees, among many others.
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These national parks have been hit hardest by DOGE firings
Axios
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Grand County ranchers will receive almost $350,000 in compensation for animals lost to wolves last year
Colorado Sun
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Trump Interior chief’s ties to oil tycoon Harold Hamm run deep
Public Domain
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The rise of the recreation economy in the West
High Country News
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Trump wants to use the 'God Squad' to increase logging, but must follow strict rules
Associated Press
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Loss of federal workers will have a huge impact on fire operations this season
Life With Fire [podcast]
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Trump’s energy czar plans to map U.S. oil bounty
Bloomberg
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The DOGE cuts are a local news story, too
Columbia Journalism Review
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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, Idaho Press reporter
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@usinterior
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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