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USFS instructed to cut workforce by 10%
These changes could affect wildfire mitigation
The U.S. Forest Service must cut about 3,400 federal employees as the Trump administration works to decrease government spending and shrink the federal workforce. The move comes following the administration’s “Fork in the Road” program that encouraged employees to resign but remain on the government payroll through September. The cuts will affect employees within their probationary period but the USFS does not plan to let go firefighters. However, the changes that would remove 10% of the USFS workforce could make it harder for the agency to manage federal forests, grasslands and, in particular, enforce wildfire prevention. Employees in probationary periods are often the individuals moving timber sales and mitigating wildfires. Other federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Energy and Small Business Administration, are also planning cuts.
Header Image: The U.S. Forest Service plans to cut its workforce by about 10%. Credit: U.S. Forest Service
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