NOTE: In February, the Trump administration fired approximately 3,400 U.S. Forest Service employees and 1,000 National Park Service employees, including wilderness rangers and trail crew members across the country. Shortly after termination, some wilderness rangers reached out to Wilderness Watch to share their stories and concerns about the impact to Wilderness. The following essay was written by one such wilderness ranger. Wilderness Watch has authenticated the wilderness ranger’s identity, but we are publishing this story anonymously to protect their identity and to help prevent potential repercussions. The images in this story are unrelated to where the wilderness ranger works.
At the time of publishing, it was just announced that probationary employees will be “reinstated” for 45 days with pay. The long-term situation remains unknown, with cuts possible again.
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I knew I wanted to be a wilderness ranger the moment I met the lead wilderness ranger during my first temporary U.S. Forest Service position back in 2018. I took the long way to get there, working positions in botany, then trail crew, but finally found my way to my wilderness ranger “dream job.”
It’s never that simple of course, and my small Forest Service recreation department required me to wear a variety of hats and complete whatever jobs needed doing. I started the season opening developed recreation sites with hazard tree assessments. I participated in the early season chainsaw logout of non-wilderness trails. I used my equestrian background to assist our mule packer with hauling in gear and materials for our Forest Service trail crew and non-profits and volunteer crews. I joined our trail crew with crosscuts and axes to remove as many logs from our wilderness trails as possible.
When all the extra duties were accomplished, I loaded up my pack, picked up my shovel, and headed alone into the Wilderness. I was never completely alone, a few miles away in any direction were other rangers, just a radio call away. Our small but mighty wilderness crew was comprised of our permanent seasonal lead ranger, several temporary rangers like myself, and one or two Americorp interns.
Working in a very busy Wilderness, there is never a shortage of work. There are always people to educate, there is always trash to remove, there are always illegal fire rings to disassemble and rehabilitate, and there are always people camping on fragile alpine vegetation. In the dry heat of summer, lightning peppers the landscape, and fires threatening people must be found and fought. There is a constant battle to manage the rapidly filling wilderness pit toilets, and deal with the ever-increasing piles of human waste from those that haven’t mastered the art of the “cathole.” Sometimes, when education isn’t enough, citations must be issued—but know that a wilderness ranger never reaches for their “ticket book” lightly.
Despite the challenges, being out in the Wilderness educating people about their public lands and maintaining these beautiful spaces is the most rewarding job I have ever experienced. I would have continued to work as a temporary employee as long as they would let me do this work. In June 2024, after 9 temporary appointments, I began my first permanent seasonal position with the Forest Service. More than a thousand other long-term temporary employees, including many other wilderness rangers, were hired into permanent positions last year as well. It felt like the agency that has struggled with attrition and hiring for so long was finally building up the next generation of public land stewards to carry on the work of our predecessors.
I was eager to learn the vast work of my mentor, friend, and lead wilderness ranger, who was approaching a well-deserved retirement. He began to teach me the grant application process. This is necessary because the on-the-ground Forest Service recreation employees in my state receive almost no direct federal funding and rely on competitive state recreation grants to fund their work. Read that sentence again—and remember it.
Fast forward to September 2024. My coworkers and I come out of the woods to an announcement that the Forest Service will not be hiring any temporary employees for the 2025 field season. This devastating news hit hard. All around me, friends and coworkers who began to learn the jobs they cherished, and returned to year after year, were gone. Our wilderness ranger “crew” was now a crew of two.
Despite losing our temporaries, we kept our chins up, because we had the recently-hired new cohort of permanent seasonal employees. We knew the next summer with bare-bones staffing would be incredibly challenging, but we are no strangers to doing more with less. I finished my field season, helped finish our grant applications, and received a glowing performance review from my supervisor.
January 2025 was barely over when we received news that every probationary employee was being placed on a list. A probationary period is at least a one year—and up to three years—in which a new permanent employee must display through their performance that they are a good fit for their position. I was a little worried, but I had a fantastic performance review.
Then came February 14, 2025.
I begin getting texts from friends and old coworkers across the region.
“People are being terminated from their positions!”
I get the call myself in the afternoon—I am also being terminated from my position. We all receive an identical letter stating: “The Agency finds, based on your performance, that you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the Agency would be in the public interest. For this reason, the Agency informs you that the Agency is removing you from your position.”
Just like that, the career I have been tirelessly working toward is ripped away.
Your public land stewards, the protectors of your Wilderness, were fired. Not due lack of funding, not due to lack of work, not due to poor performance, but due to a complete lack of understanding, and an act of cruelty against federal employees.
The dust has had time to settle, and we can now assess the damage. All probationary Forest Service employees in “non-fire” positions were fired. There are almost no wilderness rangers left in my state and many of my neighboring states. Beyond Wilderness, there are almost no field-going recreation employees left. The temporaries are gone, the permanent seasonals are gone. Without staff, many ranger districts will struggle to even utilize volunteers or host Americorp interns.
Our Congressionally-designated Wilderness areas, and public lands as a whole, are now in greater danger than they have ever been. Visitation continues to increase, and the presence of wilderness rangers is more important than ever.
Without wilderness rangers, pit toilets will overflow, trash will pile up, more fragile alpine vegetation will be trampled by tents, feet, and fire rings, tripping over human and pet waste will become even more common, and already crowded areas likely will have no one to enforce wilderness permit requirements. I fear these precious, fragile places will have their wilderness character destroyed.
If you value public lands, and wild spaces, it is time to stand up for Wilderness.
Photos, from top: Ansel Adams Wilderness, California by The Fun Chronicles / Paria Canyon-Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona by Bob Wick / Joseph Battell Wilderness, Vermont by Dawn Serra
376 Comments
The National Parks are our real wealth. They sustain us and other life on earth. The service men and women who take care of the National Parks are an indispensable resource. STOP this non-sensical firing! It will fire-back very hard on our own well-being.
The rangers are needed to protect the beautiful wilderness and all the species that live there. This beautiful planet needs more protection not less.
Our wild and natural places are sacred lands. Our rangers or stewards of the spaces protecting these spaces and caring for these spaces which allow us to enjoy these spaces. Protect our wild spaces and protect that rangers and workers that care for these spaces. Reinstate these workers in their roles. Do not these roles. They are needed.
It is unfortunate and wrong. It is obvious ‘they’ want to destroy our spirits and take our trees. The letters from Forest Service ’employees’ are good to hear and I think they should not be afraid to say their names otherwise ‘they’ are winning.
This is a lot of BS! What the administration is doing to the workers and the citizens that come to the National Parks. We need our rangers and our trail and camp ground maintainers. What is so pathetic is the fact that this is being done so they will have more money for tax cuts for the top one percent.
We have to protect these beautiful, natural spaces and all of the flora and fauna within.
I love our forests and wilderness areas. I am very angry that they are being abandoned by this administration, and worse, that they may be opened up for massive logging and mining. We need to fight back against the egregious cuts in funding that are occurring.
I love our national parks and they cannot exist without our park service men and women. Shame on all those that voted for Trump (they told you they would do this) and him and his cronies. I hate to see them destroy the beautiful natural wonders of this nation, but the majority of this nation decided this would be justified so they could have a man in office and save on eggs. How is that working out for you?
Trump’s God is money. He doesn’t realize you can’t eat or drink money. God gave us one earth of beauty that we over hundreds of years and many generations to explore, enjoy and relish. Trump and his minions in 30 days are trying to destroy what took God millions of years to create. This is a man who has no feelings, compassion or love for anyone, anything or any act of nature. He treated his own father like crap the man who gave him his endowment. We who know love and have faith need to band together and do whatever to undo these unlawful firings that he is doing to protect our parks which are our heritage and those of our many generations to come. Because what is lost now can never be replaced later.
We only have one place to live. We MUST cherish and protect our environment and wildlife. We cannot replace them. It is a disgrace if we don’t do everything we can. Our government must help, not destroy!
I think few of us understand the grueling work required of our Rangers. In my visitations I have relied on the knowledge, friendliness, and professionalism from these amazing people. They give more than asked and have a depth of knowledge that not only keeps us safe, but protects the wilderness from the damage we sometimes do. We need every one of the employees reinstated. Now.
We need these dedicated and knowledgeable workers to protect land, water, vegetation, and animal wildlife. They should be returned to their positions immediately out of respect for them and for the entire community of life in the wilderness.
When you grow up sitting on a toilet made of gold, you can’t understand the value of the hard-working forest rangers who keep not only the outside pit latrines clean and free of disease, but the wilderness restrooms that need regular scouring and disinfection, as well replenished supplies. When your only experience outdoors is on a chemically-sprayed golf course green or in a sand trap, you’ll never have the glorious thrill of sitting in contemplation as you look out to the horizon from an ancient Native American cliff dwelling or climb the trail up a Smoky Mountain path, past gorgeous waterfalls and scenic views that are beyond the imagination. Until then, my friend, you will never understand that your childhood was, indeed, sadly under privileged, not just, as many say, from a lack of love, but from growing up with few, if any, sweet encounters in nature. It’s never too late to save yourself. Do what’s right, not what’s expedient, what paves the way for destruction, or simply what makes you more money. You can be better than that. Remember, the love of money is the root of all evil. And if you don’t change your ways, your legacy will become one of unmitigated evil very, very soon.
Our wilderness is so precious and the stewards that work and volunteer are so important to our survival! Climate change and wilderness destruction will be so harmful to all of us and future generations. I am so saddened by this new administration and the destruction they are doing to devoted federal workers. Hopefully in 2028 there will be a change to this chaos and we can fight our way back to saving our planet once again. It will take the work of all of us but we can do it.
SAVE OUR WILDERNESS AND OUR PLANET!
The National (and other) Parks, Monuments and Wilderness Areas belong to the PEOPLE! Members of the forest service and park rangers are the stewards of these beautiful, vibrant and necessary spaces. Restore their jobs and get your hands off of our beautiful shared lands! I commit to take action to fight the dismantling of these spaces and organizations.
Jeremiah 2:7 And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination.
We need wilderness to survive. We can not survive in cities with 5G antennas, wifi and cell phones everywhere in addition to satellites making us sick. Past presidents supported the wilderness. Now with CEQA and NEPA threatened, EPA threatened, federal workers kicked out and being told that they are doing a lousy job, when that is absolutely not true, we shoot ourselves in the foot. Research will be eliminated, animals and plants will suffer, which has an effect on all of us. Who is thinking what seven generations that will be coming up need? Did we not learn from the Native Americans? What a travesty! Not acceptable!
This is a dangerous game. National Parks will be completely vulnerable without rangers and other staff, they are likely to be decimated even further. People need to stand up, call their representatives, make some noise, and do whatever it takes to protect our wild spaces. We are quickly barrelling towards an uninhabitable planet, all for ignorance and greed. Make no mistake, this is a hostile government takeover and the rise of fascism in America.
All of our park’s employees are greatly valued, knowing that the wilderness they guard would not be protected and accessible to most Americans without them! Let’s fight to get them reinstated and America back on track again!!!
These are OUR National Treasures. These people are managing and protecting them.
I believe in the wild
We must fight to keep access.
We must shout from virtual mountaintops
We need our federal lands staff
We need to protect federal wild places from sale to billionares.
Restore ALL of these WIlderness Ranger positions, including temporary and seasonal, immediately, so that our wildernes areas do not become trampled and devastated without supervision by anyone!!!!
I pray for a miracle to save our beautiful national wilderness.
I believe it is greed and ignorance to leave our forests unprotected.
The individuals firing the hard-working stewards are totally uneducated and clueless as to what they are doing, or worse senseless and uncaring. I am so sorry for this horrible situation.
The intrinsic value of wilderness is a truth I hold sacred. The wild lands of our country are our collective heritage, and ours to protect! No president, political party, or special interest has the right to imperil them. My family has spent our most cherished times in the national and state parks of this country. I will fight for their protection — unapologetically. I hope everyone leaving comments on this thread will do the same.
Wilderness areas do not need to be maintained. They just need to be protected from humans, specifically modern humans. My concern here is not for employees, but for the land air water and native life in these wilderness areas. Often, things that are done, such as putting out lightning fires, are anti wilderness. I agree that people are needed to protect the wilderness from tourists. but I think this post overemphasizes the importance of employees.
Our parks not only provide a respite for our spirits but they also protect our health. The trees provide oxygen and clean the air, the predators keep down the number of small vermin that prey on crops. The birds help to spread seeds and provide biodiversity in our plants.
The decision to cut our park personnel is an ignorant and useless decision made by a group of people who are not scientists and probably not even park visitors. And what of the money “saved”? Who is the politician who is going to make money off this?
It is vital that our parks, wildlife and environment be protected. The only way to do that is to “rehire” employees that maintained our parks,
watched for fires and made sure they were safe and clean for everyone to enjoy. We must stand up for our parks and speak out against Trump, Musk and their cronies. It is truly heartbreaking to see what this country has come to.
I’m so ashamed of our current administration. This act is inhumane and unpresidented; heartless and cruel. Our Wilderness should be cherished and protected for generations to come. The people who help protect our Wilderness are courageous heros. Historically, the Republican party has protected such lands. My heart aches.
I’ve been backpacking since 1990 with hundreds of nights on the ground and thousands of miles under my boots. The backcountry experience is already deteriorating due to the new wave of people who have flooded the wilderness with no respect for the land, the nature experience, or other people. Now is a time when we need more rangers, not less. The detrimental actions of this administration are appalling.
It just goes to further prove the disaster that is our criminal President. In my opinion, he’s shown himself to be nothing more than a mentally unstable, pathologically lying, petulant, vengeful dictator wannabe who has his finger on the trigger and democracy in his cross hairs. Good luck America. God help us all.
No reason for all these firings! if you want to keep the economy going & this is not the way…
These are our national treasures, to keep prestine and enjoy nature at it’s natural beauty, and without spoil, to enjoy the fresh air upon our faces, the mist in our faces and the wind at our backs. The ability to unwind and get in touch with ourselves and nature. This is our land and our American dream to enjoy and partake in without private sector costs and destruction!
I can’t believe we are going thru this. It’s pure insanity. There is no other explanation.
What the anonymous wilderness ranger mentions at the end of his or her letter about conditions of employment of being a federal employee able to keep areas officially known as “wilderness” is very telling.
Even though people are allowed to hike into or visit these areas..it could be argued that real wilderness is natural area where there are absolutely no modern humans or inventions such as gas powered, electric powered or electronic devices, etc..from the last 150 years of the industrial revolution. That would mean the last time many of these areas were true wilderness was probably when John Muir was still alive..& maybe before that.
This is the type of thinking being used by Trump’s gang in order to legally destroy government programs that are of benefit to the country & everyday citizens.
If this so-called president can kick out the employees that maintain what the ranger referred to as the fragile character of these sensitive wilderness areas..such as having nobody there to maintain the areas..then the character of the areas diminishes from wilderness to just being normal camping areas that are already trampled by crowds of non-wilderness, everyday traffic that may be encountered on a dirt encrusted freeway or other thoroughfare. If that’s all it is..then the reasoning could be argued that these areas are not special, they’re just side of the road wasted spaces that should be utilized for commerce in the form of a big, fat bulldozer.
Gold fever, money worship..dollar signs in the eyes..
It’s a human thought virus passed on from one greedy human to the next..
The life giving world we live on is only a way to get rich. There isn’t anything of value in non-monetary, & life giving processes planet Earth gives to all life that we know of in this existence?
Once the legal definition of the wilderness areas is downgraded to non-wilderness by the removal of anyone maintaining the fragile & sensitive nature of these natural areas..then, the privatization of areas designated to be left wild for the good of the planet & life here..can proceed.
It would seem that, to the Trump gang, nothing has ANY value at all unless money can be made from it.
Forever exploring this life giving Earth..
Nobody..
We need all our employees back to protect our Parks so everyone please don’t give up
He’s (trump) has filed for bankruptcy 6 times, now he’s being that wreckless with our greatest assets, our irreplaceable national treasures. I am disgusted.
This is what Trump promised with 2025. I hope no one on this comment list who loves wilderness voted for Trump and Elon Musk to ruin our environment.
Science is important, the environment is important, ecosystems are essential and biodiversity is necessary in their own right and because of the services they provide, us necessary for our survival.
I read this article and I’m in total disbelief! I feel like I’m not in the United States I ever moved to. This administration is not trying to save money or implementing checks and balances. I truly believe they are dismantelling the wilderness protection laws and services because they have plans for those lands. These are greedy evil people that have no respect for human life, let alone animals and the land! Much of these lands are probable in their targets for fracking, farming and logging. I hope we as Americans can finally open our eyes and come to our senses and unify to fight and preserve what’s right!
We need our wilderness to enjoy and we need to respect what it has to offer. We also need the people who have dedicated their lives in protecting and maintaining its beauty and upkeep. With out them, the destroyers of nature will try to eliminate and wipe out nature’s existence and therefore bring destruction to most if not all of life on this planet.
We need to protect this wildlife!
Without wilderness rangers, pit toilets will overflow, trash will pile up, more fragile alpine vegetation will be trampled by tents, feet, and fire rings, tripping over human and pet waste will become even more common, and already crowded areas likely will have no one to enforce wilderness permit requirements. I fear these precious, fragile places will have their wilderness character destroyed.
These cuts to staffing are devasting and must be reversed.
I remember the damage that was done to our national parks and public lands in the last government shutdown. Joshua trees were destroyed, land was damaged by 4 wheelers going off designated trails, trash and toilets were overflowing and human waste was piling up along trails.
In addition to all that damage, the recent firing of park staff will make it impossible to run the parks as staffing was already at a too low level. I anticipate that some parks will close, most will have little maintenance of trails and facilities. Trail guidance as well as staff led interpretive progams will be unavailable. Rescue and fire fighting staff numbers will be a severely diminished.
All public lands and wilderness will be endangered due to the lack of policing. The lack of rangers and staff monitoring will be an invitation and incentive for those who want to misuse our public lands to do their worst.
FACT: Our congressionally-designated Wilderness areas, and public lands as a whole, are now in greater danger than they have ever been. Visitation continues to increase, and the presence of wilderness rangers is more important than ever.
FACT: Without wilderness rangers, pit toilets will overflow, trash will pile up, more fragile alpine vegetation will be trampled by tents, feet, and fire rings, tripping over human and pet waste will become even more common, and already crowded areas likely will have no one to enforce wilderness permit requirements. I fear these precious, fragile places will have their wilderness character destroyed.
Rangers are a must! Cleaners are a must! Plumbers are a must! Parklands are sacred & without maintenance they will succumb to trash, forest fires, dangerous paths which cause injury. Some people act irresponsible, they need to be kept in check. Rangers will keep them in check. WE MUST PROTECT NATURE!
Good people value public lands, and wild spaces, we stand up, we speak up & take action. WE urge the US government to fund wilderness & environmental protections. This is non-negotiable, our mental, spiritual & physical health depends on it.
Because of the work of Forest Service staff, millions of Americans enjoy the beauty of our country every year. The travesty is that the wealthy do not pay their share of taxes to support the work of Forest Service staff. To allow our national parks to be denigrated is unjustifiable. Most of us pay taxes to support the work. The wealthy do not have the right to take it away under the false assertion of saving money.
This is such an unnecessary travesty – what has happened to people and what will follow to Wilderness. Many are VERY upset about this and I expect that with all the craziness trump and his regime are unleashing , soon there will be a very strong backlash. We must stand up and RESIST !
Please protect the parks, they are a place of refuge for both animals and humans and one of the few places left where development is not allowed. Protecting nature for future generations is so incredibly important, many people rely on the parks to reconnect with nature, exercise and their mental health. The animals have few places to call home and need the parks to protect them. We also need the parks to protect the trees and plants that provide carbon filters and food and shelter for insects and animals.
I believe in cutting out waste…Unfortunately the Federal Employees were never went to work and still collected a paycheck hurt it for everyone else. I will call my congressman as I feel we should do.
The firing of National Park Service and Forest Service employees at a time when our natural resources are diminishing quickly and need more guarding than ever, seems unconscionable. People from all corners of the world come to the U.S. to visit these sites, and plenty of nature-loving Americans do too. Now more than ever they need protection and conservation. Please restore these workers to their positions immediately.
We must have enough rangers for fire watch! We cannot let our parks be exploited and uncared for. People come from all over the world to visit our parks. Please take good care of our national parks. Especially since rangers are paid mostly by grants and less federally!
I was a wilderness ranger for the National Park Service clear back in the 1980s. Even back then, funding was so poor that the division I worked for could not afford to provide me with a park radio. If I encountered a medical emergency miles out in the backcountry, after doing my best to stabilize the situation, I had to literally run for miles to get help. Funding has deteriorated since then; now this. I am truly heartsick and afraid for the future of our Parks!
Hopefully, with today’s [13 March 2025] ruling from the bench of Judge William J. Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, there will be “re-hires” of those inappropriately fired from working the Wilderness.
Paul Moyer, former- permanent seasonal, Payette NF., Big Cr. RD., 1975-79 (mostly, trail-crew)
President Trump, and Elon Musk,
I am in favor of most of your cuts, but it seems that these do not have an excess or any waste involved. It seems that without the workers our beautiful national parks will become an unsanitary wasteland, and that camping areas will undesirable. I can’t imagine the stench from toilet waste and garbage cans which will ruin the land. Also more fires may get out of hand and animals may reduce the safety of people due to relying on garbage waste. These employees are needed and should be hired back. And if any are due to retire soon they should be given whatever compensation they are due. Please reconsider this serious mistake.
having been an employee at a national park when i was younger, i know how important we were to the workings of the park. i agree, some people didn’t pull their weight, but it was usually those people just waiting it out until retirement.
one of the best and most important things in the U.S. is the national park system so please reevaluate this and prioritize the protection and enhancement of our national park system.
We have to do everything we can to protect the environment and wildlife, if volunteer groups are needed, I bet many will be ready to help
Return the Federal Rangers and all the staff “fired” from their jobs which safeguard our Wilderness areas. This isn’t a weekly made for TV program with nothing at stake aside from a regular ego boost for the principal character.
These are real people with hopes and dreams that are being treated as “inconsequential” and disposable Wrong…. No one is benefiting from this outrageous abuse of power for the entitlement of the very few.
Justice isn’t served when our country’s parks and protected natural spaces are threatened. We must care for all of the Earth or suffer needlessly due to the limited foresight of the ones currently “in power”.
Unfortunately, wealth does not always guarantee an education which teaches the student that abuse of power results in consequences which hurt everyone. History shows this to us time and time again. Currently we don’t need to go anywhere to see this Truth. Sadly we’re all witnessing this Now.
May we all find ways to come together in supportive communities to bring Hope to our hurting Nation.
It is important to remember that much of what is going on should not be a surprise. We pretty much knew what Donald Trump stands for, intended to do and he did win both the popular vote and the electorial college.
Wilderness Watch is a leader in holding the government to account in violations of the Wilderness act. I would hope we can become a leader in in defending the government employees that are being used as pawns by those who would destroy our wildereness as well as our way of life. Hopefully Wilderness Watch can become a shining light in our defense of the working men and women in the rank and file that get the job done. Let us work to reset our serse of values such that what is happening now can never happen again.
Wilderness rangers are necessary to protect the wilderness areas that we determined many decades ago were valuable to our heritage. Visitors count on them for information and to keep families safe. Police cannot be called to the wilderness in a timely manner if problems arise.
This moronically minded sham and joke of an administration has been and is trashing EVERYTHING because it doesn’t suit lining the pockets of his billionaires and him. He couldn’t care less about this travesty he has created. The only nature he engages with are his golf courses. I am beyond upset….he needs impeached and thrown into the jail cell he has richly deserved for a long time. I pray something turns this around SOON.
This Ranger’s story and fate are both infuriating and heartbreaking, but unsurprising. After all, America has “elected” a fool whose idea of and only contact with wilderness is riding around a golf course in his cart. A man who, while posing as “president” was unfamiliar with and unable to pronounce the name of the Crown Jewel of our National Parks – Yosemite. The same jack@!s who attempted to change the course of a major hurricane with a felt tip marking pen. Yet, here is again, with an army of thugs to finish off what he was unable to complete during his first term.
It’s a shame Teddy Roosevelt isn’t around to witness the crimes against nature this puke is planning.
I find the language used to dismiss these folks ironic and somewhat Orwellian, in that it was allegedly done “in the public interest”. The disdain and hatred that Trump and his Fascist mob have for public servants and anything “public” is palpable. Their definition of “public” is anything that they do not own – yet. Anything that can or will be exploited for their personal financial gain that is not already owned, is fair game and they will not stop until they own EVERYTHING.
While the events of the last couple of months are frightening to anybody with a grain of common sense, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The National Parks, Monuments, wildlife preserves, oceans, lakes, rivers & streams, endangered species, public water supplies and public utilities are all “on deck” for conversion to privatization. There is just way too much money to be made for these billionaires to resist the urge to grab them while they have this golden opportunity – and nobody to stop them.
These people call themselves “conservatives”. Exactly WHAT do they conserve? They use more resources and pay less in taxes (as a percentage of gross income) than any other group of Americans. They house themselves in obscenely oversized, wasteful homes. They drive around in obscene, gas-guzzling pickup trucks and SUVs. They scoff at any attempt by others to recycle or properly dispose of their endless stream of crap. They find any effort to protect and preserve what remains of our precious natural areas and beauty a major inconvenience to their all-important “lifestyles”.
These people have never witnessed a sunset at the Grand Canyon, the beauty of Yosemite Valley or spent even one afternoon in a trout stream.
Yet, they will jump up and wave the flag before praying to their God at the start of some stupid car race where dozens of people drive around in circles for 500 miles, pumping tons of carbon into the atmosphere.
I hope their God is as pissed off as I am.
I’m an old man now, nearing the end of my time on this planet. I’ve had a pretty good life, but am glad that I won’t be around that much longer. As the wilderness is bulldozed and the deserts continue to expand, the Earth will in time become like Venus. The only consolation I have is knowing that the progeny of these insufferable, information-proof, greedy bastards won’t have a breath of clean air or a sip of unpolluted water.
The America that I know and grew up loving is dead. We are doomed to extinction at the hands of self-serving, short sighted, thieves.
If the people caring for the wilderness have to rely on grants instead of Federal funds, how do theRump and Muskrat have the power to fire them? These people are necessary employees and they need their jobs reinstated!
This country has beautiful natural resources that need to be protected and cared for – not pillaged by a felon pretending to be president (who has never been anywhere green other than a golf course) and a South African Nazi who has no business making any decisions about the United States’ federal government or its operations. All of the damage being done to all of the people and all of the resources in this country will take decades, if not centuries, if not millennia to UNDO after we get rid of Traitor Trump and Nazi Musk. So how about the people who have the power to do so, DO SOMETHING. We the people are expecting something to be done. Every minute that passes without something being done about it, is a minute every single person that could do something has chosen betrayal and treason over the oath they took and the representation of the people who put them in power.
This is so short sighted. We must support and protect our beautiful wild places.
When will Congressional Democrats get off their behinds and stand up to this tyrant in the White House? Almost all the cuts he and Musk have made are illegal. He’s getting away with murder. I’m sure even the staunchest MAGA Republicans didn’t foresee this when they voted for him. Somebody better get busy and introduce articles of impeachment before he completely ruins the country!
Without wilderness there can be no balance. The USA must not sell off and destroy our precious natural resources. Resist.
Simply, this MUST STOP!
What is taking place through the actions of TRUMP and MUSK and the actions those in the REPUBLICAN PARTY, who don’t have the courage to stand against what TRUMP is doing, allowing and causing will result in the loss of our country’s dignity and our self respect. This doesn’t need to happen.
Hopefully, those who put TRUMP in office and are allowing him to remain there, will take the action necessary to change what is happening before it’s too late. Each AMERICAN must tell their CONGRESS PERSON now not to cower longer behind TRUMP any longer! He isn’t worth the loss of our DEMOCRACY!
Mike & Carol Chilcoat
March 13, 2025 At 12:05 pm
The very stable genius in the words of former senator Claire McCaskill is “bat shit crazy”! Looking back on Biden’s age, the critics who said he was old, senile, can’t help but wonder about the mentality of the “very stable genius” destroying democracy before our eyes. NEVER has there been a more evil administration in the USA. There is no sense of humanity in anything this group of terrorists has done in less than 100 days that shows compassion, caring, empathy for humans or animals. Americans who voted for evil–this is your wake up call to quit your whining and “DO SOMETHING”! You own this mess!
All National Parks, National Forests, Wilderness Areas and National Monuments are holy, sacred places and need to be treated as such. Any Public Servant that treats them as anything less deserves to be fired, impeached or worse. To fire the Good People that work hard to protect and preserve them and then claim that their efforts were insufficient is a crime. Am I preaching to the choir or what?
Thank you for your enthusiasm, commitment, and hard work. All I know to do about this disaster that is taking place is to rally together and email (repeatedly) our senators. My faint hope is that if enough of the public expresses disapproval, senators will pick up a trend and will begin to listen to us. Short, concise, rational emails are my only hope right now. Please join me in advocating for our government workers. Perhaps if our self-serving senators feel their jobs are at risk from the voting public, they’ll find enough courage to stand up and do their jobs.
The wilderness needs to be protected and the people responsible for getting that done need to have their jobs.
Wilderness is itself a critical natural resource – the natural environment has intrinsic value that one cannot put a price on. There are inhabitants other than humans who depend on this planet, and we owe a debt of responsible stewardship to our fellow inhabitants, and that includes preserving and protecting their habitat.
Our National and State Parks are needed for our families and everyone to enjoy! We need all of the Wilderness Rangers to be reinstated and not ever fired for no reason again!! Please, Mr. President don’t let this happen. Our Parks can’t continue without the Rangers!!! It makes my heart sick to hear about them being fired. I’m praying that your mind will be changed. We do want you to cut unneeded items from the government budget, but this is NOT an UNNEEDED item!!!!
DOGE is an acronym for:
Department Of Greedy Elon!
Department Of Grab Everyone!
Department Of Gut Everything!
Trump needs 2 b arrested and put in jail for a very long time!! he constantly wants 2 ruin everything in the US and more!! Parks need people 2 keep it and the animals protected by stupid people that only think about money and how they can b selfish and show off like they r big shits when they brake the laws!! we as a people shouldn’t take that kind of crap from liars and that just want 2 line their damn pockets more and kill animals 2 extinction and ruin perfect environments with devastating loss, and more!! that’s unacceptable!!!! Trump should never been president in the 1st place and stupid people want 2 believe in his lies need 2 wake the hell up and c the damn truth rt in front of u all!!!!!! the parks and wild animals all share things in common with us!!!! we need them 2 survive. it’s all the circle of life!!!! we need each other and we need people 2 work the parks 2 protect and save what they can and learn things and teach other people!!!! u can’t do anything if ur in the dark and don’t know about things that u should know!!!!! it’s called learning!!!!!! people need 2 think as in wtf would happen 2 them if they were in that place where they r hunted 2 b killed 4 sport 2 show off cause they have alot of money, or worse!!!! grow the hell up trump!! get the hell out of office and stop trying 2 hurt and working people that r not as rich as u r!!!! and the animals that need 2 b learned from their environment not killed 2 b showed off and lose everything 2 extinctions!!!!! grow the hell up trump think about others b4 urself!!!!
Working as a wilderness ranger was the best job I ever had, and in doing it I saved a couple of kids’ lives, at least one person from possible paralyzation, and put out several fires that may well have spread and burned out of control without a ranger there to intervene. I know my colleagues and I worked extremely hard to keep people and our places safe. It took only a few bad actors in the wilderness put the resource and other visitors at risk. I reminded myself that if it weren’t for these relatively rare idiots and jerks, my wonderful job would not be as necessary. It is obvious from this current administration that idiots and jerks are as common as ever in the country, and so wilderness ranges are need led now more than ever. The patriotic thing to do is reinstate all natural resource protection employees now, with an apology and back pay.
It seems this current administration is hell bent on denying the public what rightfully belongs to all of us to serve its own craven “goals.”
But there’s plenty of money for Dump to fly to Mar y Lago every weekend to golf. He is a disgusting pig. My apologies to pigs everywhere. He and his cohorts have gotta go.
We are dealing with “leaders” who value nothing, the ultimate looters. The people behind them think they can survive the destruction of the planet. Money makes people crazy; enough money makes them evil. I’m 80 YO and I doubt I will see the end of this darkness, but I hope it ends.
I support and stand with foresty employees, interns and volunteers. No retreat, we must hold the line and plan, plan and fight for the outdoors and continued preservation of Wilderness Act. I hope none of those affected voted for that monster.
This is devastating! Our country needs to keep our rangers to protect our forests.
I am so sorry for every person who has had their dream of being a steward of our parks and lands shattered. These lands are the American people’s lands! Not Trump and Musks and the other billionaires. These lands, the wilderness and animals, must be protected. REINSTATE OUR NATIONAL PARK AND NATIONAL FOREST SERVICE EMPLOYEES!
Follow the law: The Wilderness Act. And hold legally accountable those who do not.
Politically, all politicians at every level of government should be frank in their assessment that it is the current [R] party, and those who inhabit it, that proves itself time and again the enemy of the environment. One can point to their endless regressive and baseless rhetoric. Or point to the volume of anti-environmental legislation that the [R] party has actually supported, moved to the floor where they contributed lie-filled debate and then voted for. This real evidence is clear and damning. Let’s remind the general public of it at EVERY….SINGLE….TURN.
We need our wilderness areas and we need the people and department to oversee them, gutting the government is gutting our common wealth.
The National Parks are National Public Lands and must be maintained for the public. Devaluing the National Parks by not caring for them is also devaluing the Public which owns them. The firwed folks must be reinstated to care for this Public Land.
When you elect myopic leaders whose goal is wealth, we all pay the price. Lacking concern for animals, insects and plants is part of the myopic view. Ruining the environment and its residents is putting all life at risk with the eventual result of destruction. The ecosystem is all intertwined. We currently blame “Climate Change” for fires, harsh winters, atmospheric rivers but fail to comment that WE (Our Leaders and Businesses) have put profits above rationale scientific thought…it is easier to pretend that what we are experiencing is just a normal albeit more extreme shift in climate patterns than the result of inaction or worse, stupid decisions. Until we remove leaders who are not intelligent leaders, are willing to sacrifice profits for stewardship of the planet, we are all doomed.
We need full employment in the US Forest Service, National Parks & Wilderness, and in other government agencies to provide sufficient service for the public. Without it, our parks, forests & wilderness areas will lose their popular appeal by becoming trashed and polluted and having delays & insufficient service. Our parks have had record attendance, so it would be foolish to downsize at this point. Many agencies are understaffed and cannot handle further reduction in staffing and still operate properly.
If you are serious about saving money and making government more efficient, focus on the Department of Defense; reduce or eliminate subsidies for giant corporations and such industries as oil, coal & gas, industrial agriculture, the pharmaceutical industry, insurance industries, and high tech; enhance the ability of the IRS to go after wealthy tax cheats, and look at where most of the money goes; and do not lower taxes for the extremely wealthy, who already have overwhelming advantages over the middle class at a time in our history of unprecedented & destabilizing wealth disparity. Streamline, not cripple, our government, please!
OUR WILDERNESS AREAS, OUR PARKS, OUR PRESERVES, OUR ESTUARIES, … IN EFFECT, ALL OF OUR INTACT ECOSYSTEMS AND PROTECTED WILD AREAS….. THESE ARE OUR L E G A C Y TO OUR CHILDREN AND FUTURE GENERATIONS. OUR FAILURE TO STEWARD THESE PRICELESS LANDS AND THE LIFE WITHIN THEM IS A B E T R A Y A L OF OUR LEGAL MANDATE TO ACT RESPONSIBLY TOWARDS WHAT HAS BEEN HANDED DOWN TO US FROM OUR FOREBEARERS. THESE LANDS PROVIDE US WITH THE WHEREWITHAL TO S U R V I V E! WE MUST LOVE OUR MOTHER EARTH OR PERISH!
As an avid hiker I enjoy the forests and deserts of our state. To add to the issue already stated, my son is a wildland firefighter and has been for 20 years. His job as Supervisor of Fire Management has been greatly affected by the firing of support staff and the freeze on hiring. This is the time of the year that they hire and train new firefighters. With the loss of support staff and no new hiring our forest are greatly impacted in regards to fires and prevention of fires. Endangered areas and species will not identified, prescribed fires are limited, restoration after fires will not happen and small towns and villages face being destroyed by the large fires burning out of control.
Wilderness rangers protect the forest as well by identifying areas of concern, spotting fires and protecting the fragile forest. It’s a sad day for our forests and environment so that the rich get a further tax cut and the oil industry has its drill baby drill President.
So, when does impeachment start?
I guess the western states get what they voted for! The situation in our treasured national parks is yet another environmental tragedy on top of so many others–but as long as eggs/bread/gas gets cheaper, it seems that voters don’t care. Drill baby drill, log baby log, and die wildlife die. Chew on this fact: there (were) roughly the same number of federal employees as in the 1970s (a period of program expansion) last year; in that same time frame, the number of US citizens increased roughly 300 million. And today, fewer and fewer qualified people to do the work, no one in the pipeline to train, and crooked billionaires/ignorant millenials/the ‘new right’ telling us it’s a “golden era”. Good times!
Wilderness places are good for the soul. They refresh our work-weary spirits, give us a sense of possibilities, and bring us back to the world of work in much better shape and with much more energy.
These healthful effects do not occur in urban spaces.
It’s not merely about being away from fellow humans. Sometimes we do encounter other people in wilderness places, and then there’s usually camaraderie.
But wilderness does need taking care of, as the writer noted.
Stop selling off public lands
America’s public lands are owned by the people, for the people. They require experts in forestry to manage this delicate environment, that is already under duress because of global climate change.
HIRE BACK all federal forest service and wilderness employees NOW. We accept nothing less.
Keep our wilderness and parks staffed!
I value public lands and wild spaces, and the National Park Service employees and wilderness rangers who protect our iconic Wilderness.
The Wilderness should not be touched except to install safety measures to insure that all will be preserved including all wildlife.
I’m sorry. I’m sorry for you and all qualified people who were kicked out of their jobs in a show of force by the administration. I am sorry he ever became President, sorry he hired Musk as his hit man. I do what I can to write, call, comment, protest, and I hope one day, sooner rather than later, that such barbaric behavior will be condemned, denied further reach and turned back.
Don’t give up. I hope you come back to the work you love best, with a guarantee that such demonic decisions are no longer allowed. I, too, fear for all the wilderness, especially given how many do not respect it, public or otherwise. Our parks, open spaces, wilderness areas are unequalled in the world. They draw everyone, good and bad, with attendance consequences. I can only hope that our representatives grow their respective backbones, calling a complete halt and a reversal to this insanity.
Good luck, and thank you for all you did prior to the tragedy. We need people like you. And of all my hopes, I most sincerely hope your dream job comes back.
Thanks for this post. It’s terrible and terrifying. I’ll look forward to hearing from WW what we can as individuals do about this.
One of the most precious gifts to our citizens of this country are our national, state parks and wilderness areas. For these areas to thrive and be available to future generations, we must fund people who are dedicated to protecting and maintaining this treasured lands. Since COVID the number of citizens visiting these areas has increased requiring need for more rangers, not less. Therefore I strongly encourage that all Forest Service Employees be reinstated. To do otherwise would be a crime against nature and all of those who depend on it.
Wow, we are throwing away our National heritage of wilderness areas away for profit. The inhumane firing of civil servants protecting our heritage and opening those areas up for abuse and corporate profiteering is a full on assault on our heritage that so many have worked so hard to preserve at a time when we need to expand wilderness areas to combat climate change. We are on a March to Folley towards destroying our livable planet!
The wilderness needs to be protected and the people responsible for getting that done need to have their jobs
We must protect nature!!
All the rangers that were fired need to be reinstated now. Our world is dependent on them. The wildlife and earth need protection.
I too worked numerous seasonal appointments with the USFS in the 70s. After getting 2 undergraduate degrees including a BS in Park Administration where I worked part time as a Wilderness Ranger until finally getting a career conditional appointment as a Wilderness Manager on the Buffalo RD, Ozark NF in 1989. I’m truly saddened to see these firings of employees with probationary status. It should be illegal. It undermines the continuity of Wilderness programs nationwide. It’s robbing the people resources for the future.
Before the election I heard about this being a possibility along with other horrible things. Now that it’s actually happening it breaks my heart all the dedicated workers, the wildlife, and the forests. I will keep donating when I an afford it and signing petitions to help end this evil dictatorship.
Trump is a very ignorant man who rules against what he does not understand. All he understands or cherishes is money. Modern culture needs thriving natural spaces protected and served by those whose expertise lies in caring for our wild areas and protecting those who come to experience the joy of these sacred spaces.
Please reinstate all employees of national parks and make sure that they do not get dismissed again. Their services are vital to keep our national treasures safe.
I think it is a tragedy that our beautiful wilderness areas will suffer
greatly due to the elimination of park rangers. These persons are
very needed to help maintain these areas for future generations of
Americans and foreign visitors. The United States is one of the most
gifted of advanced nations in its natural beauty. What a terrible mistake to eliminate the personnel who help protect and maintain
these precious places!
To Hell with trump and his cronies !
The Trump administration has no regard for wilderness or wild places. They do not value our forests, ecosystems, or National Parks as places worth preserving. Instead, the administration is targeting public lands for resource extraction. Our well-being is tied to the integrity of wild places and these Park Service and Forest Service employees are stewards of them. The undoing of the wild will be the undoing of us. Reinstate the wilderness rangers.
I think it is a tragedy that our beautiful wilderness areas will suffer
greatly due to the elimination of park rangers. These persons are
very needed to help maintain these areas for future generations of
Americans and foreign visitors. The United States is one of the most
gifted of advanced nations in its natural beauty. What a terrible mistake to eliminate the personnel who help protect and maintain
these precious places! This firing of park personnel should STOP!
We need to dump Trump. There are 2 people that need to be fired that is Trump and Musk. All the others bring back!
Trump and Musk are much too wrong. Things have to be managed by ones who know how to take care of the environment
This whole ‘doge’ idea is disgusting and hurtful and has lost the USA sooo many talented and dedicated people. Who is guarding the country as well as its resources Now?
I use wilderness spaces for physical and mental health, to give myself the time and space to relax and collect my thoughts/organize my priorities. Without rangers to keep the trails groomed, open, and safe, I would not be able to find this refuge. They are indispensable to the continued health of our planet and all of its inhabitants. Please don’t eliminate their contributions in order to give more tax breaks to those that don’t deserve the excessive number of breaks they already have.
The harm that will result from the “hatchet cuts to the wilderness forest service rangers will last for generations. I don’t know if our forest wildernesses will ever recover.
Wilderness is a precious resource.
Those of you who have been working to preserve its character deserve deep appreciation from members of the public like me. The Trump administration has no values. I am sorry to see wilderness values among those so disrespected by this bunch of thugs.
IT IS DISGRACEFUL THAT AN UNELECTED BILLIONAIRE IS DESTROYING OUR GIFTS WHICH SHOULD BE PROTECTED AND PRESERVED. THE PEOPLE WHO UNJUSTLY WERE FIRED WERE THE ONLY THING STANDING BETWEEN SURVIVAL AND THE DEATH OF OUR FORESTS AND ALL THE WILDLIFE THAT CALL IT HOME. IF THE BULLY DICTATOR – A CONVICTED CORRUPT BUSINESS MAN – WHO FOOLISH PEOPLE ELECTED REALLY CARED ABOUT OUR COUNTRY AND ALL ITS TRADITIONS HE WOULD TAX THE EXCESSIVELY RICH. INSTEAD HE IS ALLOWING BIG COMPANIES TO POLLUTE AND DESTROY OUR AIR, LAND, WATER AND WHATEVER WILDLIFE THEY WISH TO SLAUGHTER. HE IS THE VERY WORST PRESIDENT IN 248 YRS!
Trump’s firings of national forest and park personal is just unacceptable!
Please reinstate fired Forest service employees to protect our precious public lands and keep your paws off privatizing what belongs to the people your greedy obsessions!
Hopefully the wilderness can out last the orange buffoon.
It is a sad and pathetic situation situation that trump and his lackeys do NOT care about public lands and their preservation and protection.
We need our environments, All animals, all parks and wildlife places protected and taken care of. This is about the future of our planet not rich people making more money. The bastards that are doing this are sorry excuses for human beings. Be advised assholes…what happens to one eventually happens to all. We need our forest rangers and land keepers who are very important to our world.
Do not the gut the Forest Service. Our wild land is a treasure, that people come from all over the world to enjoy. Stop DOGE and Elan Musk, who is unqualified to do this work, from taking a chain saw to all of our national treasures. Reinstate the people you have fired. They are doing a service. It is also illegal labor practices tell all the people whose jobs are cut; to tell them they are doing a bad job. DOGE is doing a bad and illegal job. Stop the madness.
Mother Earth is crying out!
If you don’t respect other people you don’t respect anything. A throw away culture
Save Wildlife
I strongly urge that U.S. Forest Service employees and National Park Service employees, including wilderness rangers and trail crew members across the country, not be fired or let go. There will be serious long-term damage to our forests and parks without them.
Firing wilderness rangers is both outrageous and completely unnecessary. I strongly disagree with what Trump/Musk are doing — their actions turn my stomach. They absolutely have no clue as to how critical the work of wilderness rangers is.
Please reinstate Wilderness Rangers and National Park employees to protect and preserve our few remaining wilderness areas around the country and our National Parks. Not having the staff needed to preserve and police these areas will degrade them and they will be forever lost.
Reinstating and hiring back the hardworking Wilderness Rangers and National Park Rangers will be an investment in the future of this Country which no Dollar amount can be assigned to, these places are invaluable!
Thank you!
Gabriele Hiemann
It breaks my heart that the national parks are under such menace.
I live in Europe but I care about this planet and I think all of the national parks, rainforests, old growth forests and so on are important to all of us. I am also really sorry for people who are/were doing such a wonderful and important job in your national parks who have or are about to lose their jobs. I really hope that the checks and balances that we have heard so much about will be put into effect, so that people can keep their jobs, and keep doing this vital job to the national parks and to our shared planet.
Is there no limit to Trumps destruction??
TWO unelected foreign adversaries now in charge of our goverment. President Musk and Putin. I don’t recall voting for either of them.
This is what our founding fathers warned us about. The raping of our country.
This is a travesty. With climate issues, increased popularity, & lack of any common decency or personal accountability, finding people of a strong caliber to maintain & preserve our heritage of precious open spaces, Trump has all but lit these places on fire.
Please stop this coup d’etat from burgeoning any further. Stop this White “Christian” Nationalist movement before is too late, & “they come for you,” & the USA turns into New Gilead.
#forreal
#seriuoslythough
I would include that the risk of fire increases with fewer eyes on the public at parks.
I agree with your original statement:
Our Congressionally-designated Wilderness areas, and public lands as a whole, are now in greater danger than they have ever been. Visitation continues to increase, and the presence of wilderness rangers is more important than ever.
Without wilderness rangers, pit toilets will overflow, trash will pile up, more fragile alpine vegetation will be trampled by tents, feet, and fire rings, tripping over human and pet waste will become even more common, and already crowded areas likely will have no one to enforce wilderness permit requirements. I fear these precious, fragile places will have their wilderness character destroyed.
If you value public lands, and wild spaces, it is time to stand up for Wilderness.
I feel that it is very or highly important to speak up for places like the photos, if not urgent!!
To Whom It May Concern:
Restore our park service and forest service employees today! They’re needed to protect our valued public lands and the nature that lives on them, and to educate the public as to how to be responsible when they’re enjoying all of this beautiful country.
Bring these employees back today to do the jobs that only they can do.
We need these people in the wilderness, protecting its beauty and solitude. It’s priceless.
Please protect our public lands
People need to be educated about Wilderness, and how to enjoy it, and preserve it for people and wildlife. Without the rangers, there is no one to do that when I go to visit. In a new area, I don’t know what animals to look for, what plants live there, and where is the nearest non-stinky pit toilet. Rangers inform me of all these things and much, much more. We need them!!
Reinstate Forest Service employees.
We have less wilderness in this country than any of the other developed countries in the world. Only 3% of our land! All the more reason to protect what little we have, not destroy it! Any proposal to destroy wilderness in America is pure ignorance.
This is not the way compassionate, caring individuals do things. Trump and Musk are ruthless and cruel in their approach to people and institutions and it is being felt not only throughout America but around the world. Who in hell, after everything we knew, thought it was a good idea to re-elect Trump?? I don’t want to know these people!
This is indeed a tragic situation, we must object to this out of control behavior, it’s absolutely unreasonable, cruel and foolish.
Our National Parks, Monuments and protected areas are the entitlement of the American People. We each own a small piece of them and are entrusted to keep and protect them. The president does not have the right to sell them off or pillage them for resources. These places are a living library of our history and must be preserved for generations to come.
Make decisions based on proven solutions and science backed reasoning.
Truly very problematic. The notice of firing sounds like it was written by someone like Stephen Miller, carefully worded to indicate bad performance to justify the termination even though there is no evidence of that. Monstrous. And the only reason for the firings is to support futher tax reductions for billionaires. Trump and Musk are destroying our economy and our country, and they must somehow be stopped. Too bad the Republicans in Congress nearly all have no spines.
Without wilderness rangers wilderness will be destroyed.
Firing them is senseless, it responsible and outrageous.
I find all these firings of wilderness jobs reprehensible! Our environment is being completely ignored. What will we have left to leave our descendants?
Our national parks bring in revenue as well as providing calm, family entertainment, and rejuvenation. We need our rangers to provide services.
As a retired federal archaeologist who worked for the US Forest Service and the National Park Service I am sick and tired of watching a man who should never have been allowed anywhere near the federal process or programs. Musk is acting illegally and is being encouraged by the most treasonous man this country has ever been inflicted with. Trump should be forced to resign and should be tried as a traitor. The Republicans are equally guilty of treasonous actions as well as numerous corrupt and illegal ones. They spent over 50 years destroying public education in this country and we are now seeing the results of years of dumbing down the American population.
It will take years to repair the damages being done to federal laws and programs now but it will take generations to repair the damages the Republicans did to the education process. It is time for everyone, both Republicans and Democrats, to wake up and take a stand against the treason that have taken control of the country.
Wild places and national parks are important to us Americans. Reinstate the personnel that supports them and leave them alone!
It is unbelievable what has/is happening in this country. The wilderness needs on-the-ground stewards, and this needs to be a priority, funded at the federal level. The wilderness is precious and irreplaceable – it must be preserved and protected as such.
Many of us have visited our beloved national parks. These and other federal lands are in danger of falling into disrepair following the firings of thousands of federal employees by the current administration. This is a travesty. In 2019, a federal government shutdown lasted only 35 days and resulted in massively destructive impacts to America’s national parks, including closures and vandalism, as parks were left without rangers.
Now it is to become permanent. Federal agencies that were already strapped for resources, such as the National Parks Service and U.S. Forestry Service, will now be struggling to find workers to perform critical functions for visitors and maintenance.
Protect our wilderness, protect the jobs of people who do that.
Wilderness and wild places are my religion.
Musk and Trump are infringing on my ability to practice my religion which is unconstitutional, un-American, and inhumane.
This is the worst administration the US has ever had.
I hope there is still clean air and water when they are replaced by humans with integrity and moral standing
It is a treacherous attack on nature to cut federal works in our parks. That is the simple fact that the savage lies of Donald Trump and his right-wing accomplices refuse to acknowledge.
This is as despicable! Shame on trump!!
Our wild lands are unique, precious mental resources (yes, mental), part of American heritage and not for sale for a quick profit. To destroy the beauty of nature and what it gives us would be shameless.
I think they will hire people back but for lower pay and not good working conditions.
To me they don’t see People has People but rather as objects they can play with and dispose of at will.
Like the Cree say “You cannot eat money or Drink dirty water”
Not only are we losing protection and care of our wild places but this also affects the economy. If there is no paycheck there is no spending. Wake up people!
The arbitrary firing of National Park Service employees is a direct attack on the public good.
Trump and company are attempting to shred our form of government. I am hopeful that those with more sense will continue to stop the shredding and the shredding machine.
I have valued wilderness, National Forests, and parks for all my 84 years. It is utterly ridiculous to put these areas at risk for the sake of a few bureaucrats that know little about such areas. It is a travesty against all those who have spent their lives maintaining and protecting our beautiful wildlands and scenic areas, not to mention many cultural sites. Such ignorance is anti American.
TRM
If our communal public lands are not protected some bad actors will trash them. We learned that the last time, e.g. cutting down of ancient Joshua trees, accumulating shit on trails, etc. These lands belong to THE PEOPLE. It costs a lot more to restore them, if that can even be done, than it does to protect them in the first place. Like pretty much all of this administration’s “cost cutting” actions, this is just another grift designed to steal as much as possible from American citizens. Time to resist.
This is a disgraceful and unacceptable action by the current administration along with the destruction of the EPA. Wilderness areas are a powerful reminder of the powers and forces of nature and the folly of humans, who are out of touch with them.
I love the wilderness and volunteer regularly. I know how incapable it is for the past employees to keep up with this. This is a public lands for the people of the US. We are not respecting this.
DISGUSTING , IGNORANT FELON trump AND HIS BILLIONAIRE BRAIN (musk) MAKING STUPID , GUTLESS, CARSLESS FIRINGS ALL OVER OUR GOV . = FACSIST MANAGEMENT CONTROL…!!!!!!! trump IS COMPLETELY TOO STUPID TO MAKE DECSIONS LIKE THIS …HE NEEDS BIG DONOR PROFITEER TO DO THAT..!! GUTTING PARK SERVICE EMPLOYEES IS INSANE , STUPID, CRIMINAL..!!! NO ONE TO WATCH + PROTECT OUR WILD ENVIRONMENT..!!!!!! CAN ONLY PRAY NO SERIOUS DAMGE IS THE RESULT OF THESE CUTS…FOREST SERVICE EMPLOYEES ARE VITAL, NECESSARY = RESTORE THESE POSITIONS NOW…!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stop the insanity NOW!
MAGA is a cancer to our country, our planet, and humanity.
The ranger Corps for wildling needs to be increased- not cut!
I’m totally disgusted by the administration disregard for our wilderness areas! And I’m afraid they’re doing this so they can access any resources that they want to rape to funnel more $ into there pockets at the cost of our planet !
To all the morons who voted for trump , don’t complain when our wilderness turns to shit. Of course there will be lots of destruction by the 4 wheel and atv types, illegal hunting to the destruction of whole species. Don’t worry though,the public land will be privatized so most people won’t be able to go on it anymore. The money from the sale will go to the strategic bit coin reserve(the pockets of the South African nazi oligarchs)
Reduction of staff should have occurred in the bloated administration of the Forest Service, not at the field level. Most unfortunate and disappointing.
Without park staff, our beautiful national parks will be destroyed. This should be obvious to everyone.
Thank you for sharing your story. What a sudden devastating blow, not only to you and to your fellow rangers, but to our whole country and to all the efforts of so many people to preserve and maintain our beautiful wildnerness areas. Perhaps if more and more of these stories are out in the public eye, there will be another sudden reversal of this abominable policy.
Our wild places were put in place by a REPUBLICAN president, with the goal to provide Americans with a tiny bit of natural wonder. Without concrete, smoke, machines… Without wilderness rangers, pit toilets will overflow, trash will pile up, more fragile alpine vegetation will be trampled by tents, feet, and fire rings, tripping over human and pet waste will become even more common, and already crowded areas likely will have no one to enforce wilderness permit requirements. I fear these precious, fragile places will have their wilderness character destroyed forever, all at the expense OF UTTER MONETARY GREED. It’s beyond comprehensible, how people could think for one moment, that any of this is within the realm of reason.
This firing process is insane. The current president and co-president have never stepped into any wilderness place and their wealth seems to protect anything they say. They see only money and care nothing for anyone who is not adoring them. It has to change and soon! Our status in the world has changed as well and we Americans are no longer wanted. It is sad and we must eject these ? leaders ASAP.
It is a wonderfully written account of what is happening and how these cuts will affect us all and our cherished wild spaces.
Now is the time for every one of us to rise, protest, and have our voices heard. Do not sleepwalk into oblivion.
This is NOT normal, and these are not normal times.
WTH is wrong with you people, set on destruction! KNOCK IT OFF!Our Congressionally-designated Wilderness areas, and public lands as a whole, are now in greater danger than they have ever been. Visitation continues to increase, and the presence of wilderness rangers is more important than ever.
Without wilderness rangers, pit toilets will overflow, trash will pile up, more fragile alpine vegetation will be trampled by tents, feet, and fire rings, tripping over human and pet waste will become even more common, and already crowded areas likely will have no one to enforce wilderness permit requirements. I fear these precious, fragile places will have their wilderness character destroyed.
Without respect for God’s green earth, and only respect for mankind’s green currency, our time on this planet is limited. We will not inhabit another planet. We will be gone, like the dinosaurs.
This is not God’s will. It is the will of the vicious human animal, who knows nothing of the ways of God, because God is used by this animal as a shield to perpetrate against one’s fellow beings, whether of plant, animal or inanimate characteristics. A being is something that exists without human intervention. So, everything God created, as it is stated in Genesis, “…is good…” as defined by the Creator.
However, God also created human beings on the 6th day of creation and they were also labeled as “…good…” by this same Creator and as “…made in the image and likeness…” of the Creator, which is supposed to mean that we have something special going on that the other beings don’t. Yes.
Then humankind began to eat something that gave rise to an expanded sense of oneself and in such a way as they no longer trusted or honored their God. Instead, as God described it, “for man[/woman] is evil in the imagination of his[/her] heart from youth…” (Genesis, Chapter 8, verse 21), but we humans have never been taught of this lesson and have never been warned that our imaginations, which we take to heart, can be the source of our problems. Just like we’ve never learned that money/economics is not necessary, for our living, or our survival, because no one and nothing survives. All of the things we see around us decay and erode to nothingness, which is where we actually started.
So, how does this apply to the issue at hand? We, human beings, must understand that the human animal, which was created by God after the 6 days of creation, lives among us. They can, at any time, awake to their humanity, but it is almost impossible, if that human has money. Ergo, “…it is harder to get a rich man into heaven, than it is to lead a camel through the eye of a needle…” Meanwhile, our own human weaknesses, our own egos, selfishness and other qualities of the human animal, still exist with us, through the “evil imagination” and we see these things in the fact that we live like we are individually alone and must abide and live by economics. Who says we must operate consistent with a paycheck? We do!
But, what if we don’t? What if those of us who care, do what we care to do with the promise of the rest of us to make sure our service people get food, shelter, medical care, clothing and education without having to meet the demands our societies have succumbed to by becoming reliant on a system that placates people who don’t serve, like Elon Musk doesn’t serve, because they say they have more worthless cotton with the $ symbol than the rest of us. We say what’s valuable. That’s the “made in the image and likeness” part we have misunderstood. Speaking makes us ‘wholly responsible’ for what world we live in. Listening, is even more powerful, in that, if someone speaks and we don’t grant them our listening, they are merely pissing in the wind. So, speaking and listening are the traits that give us our Godliness and now you understand why the “squeaky wheel gets more grease’. Stop listening to the squeaky wheel and start listening to the commitments of those that speak up for their commitments, like the wilderness ranger, who very successfully represents a commitment to God’s pristine wilderness, which holds within it everything humans need for healthy living, without the need to kill another being.
It’s clearly not the same as Musk’s and Trump’s commitments to power, money, selfishness, payback and all the other things that make it clear that they are living in their imaginations, which limits, actually, their possibilities for a better life. They have given up their being-ness for basic animal instinct. They are the clear distinction of the human animal and they are waging war against the character of being, which is represented most amazingly in the statement, “I am that I am.”
So, let’s give voice to another possibility in life, of which today’s humans are not aware. Let’s give our speaking and listening over to creating a world wherein we keep all of these service people on the job and we make sure they all get what they need for living. We enroll our communities to look past there reliance on money and form partnerships to supply everyone with everything we need. The “evil imagination” relies on money because it imagines that money is valuable. Well, it only is, because we say so, and nothing more.
That’s all I have to contribute.
This is wrong for the rangers that work to protect our lands.
Trump wants everyone connected to the wilderness GONE so King TRump can put his own mouth pieces there to do as his bidding….which means destroying the wilderness and the only beautiful and peaceful homes our beloved animals have. He does not give a shit what happens to our animals. He does not want eyes there that will help them. Much easier for him to put his wrath of vengence there and steal from the animals homes. Oil will ruin it for sure. People will ruin it for sure. The wilderness is supposed to be wild, not a public recreation place that scares the hell out of animals with all the noise, pollution, destruction. Along with fires, windstorms, dangers of nature already wrecking the wilderness, now Trump is wrecking it. I pray for the animals, and their only homes. I will celebrate the day this man no longer is president . ….so someone , somewhere can undo the carnage he is causing. I wish someone could fire his ass . No one should be able to do what he is doing. NO ONE. For the first time in my life I am not happy living in this once great USA. All due to Hitler the 2nd. I Pray for the animals and all the wilderness and innocent people destroyed by this man.
We must save our public lands – rehire all those who have been illegally fired and halt the chump/musk attacks on our country and our people NOW!!
The few wilderness areas owe have left are the most valuable things we have.
This was an amazing letter!! I have been a card holder for the National Park Service for a long time. I am retired, old and yet I still find the time and energy to visit these magnificent parks, both state and national. I have friends come and visit from France………….and, where is the one place they ALWAYS want to go?? To our parks!! I relish this!
trump is an idiot, a moron, a selfish, self centered creep and along with him, musk (yes, I know I did mot capitalize their names………they don’t deserve the respect so I do not and will not, ever!) I will continue to love you guys/gals and what you do to keep this country beautiful. Thank you!
Clearly we need these stewards of our precious wild spaces to protect the nature that sustains all of us. Reverse these catastrophic events that have taken place and rehire them
These Wilderness Rangers musts be reinstated; and Fire Fighters, and – so so many others in multiple agencies who have been wrongfully terminated!!! Quite destroying our country, our global relations, the environment – stop all this wrong!
How does allowing “America’s Greatest Idea” to fall into disrepair and firing dedicated employees Make America Great Again? It doesn’t. These chain-saw firings are designed to hurt people who this administration believes to be liberal.
I was a seasonal worker for the US Forest Service in 1966 and 1967, working out of Hoodsport, WA. The head ranger was Jack Grubb. For a city boy from San Francisco the experience was the most awe inspiring education no academia could come close to duplicating. I longed to become a permanent employee but life had other plans and I was led to a career in government in Tacoma, WA. But the education of rebuilding hiking trails, maintaining camp sites, visiting with hikers and remote campers, reforestation and fighting forest fires left that young man with a new found love and respect of the endless miracle of God’s nature that exists today as though it was my 1st day on the job. The crisis and chaos in nature that will surely follow this revolting administrative decision will be epic in size. And if we assumed it was only ignorance of forest management that inspired these devastating cut backs, it can only be sheer cruelty and intentional barbarous pleasure that crushed the hopes and dreams of the thousands of families who have been left unemployed. When you vote, educate yourself on the consequences of your choices and be careful for what you wish for. And this shall pass too. But with unimaginable pain and sorrow and devastation left in it’s wake.
Please rehire all fired and terminated forest service rangers to protect our fragile wilderness areas
This was a reckless action against our public lands, environment & wildlife! Because the Rangers & Stewards of our National Parks are educators to the public. The Trump administration is only a fan of the almighty dollar, nothing else matters to him.
Will our wildernesses turn into lands of lawlessness without wilderness rangers on the ground? Who will clear the trails? Will the less than ethical outfitters start using chainsaws to clear trails to their camps? Who will make sure stock isn’t tearing up lakeshores and shitting in the water? What will happen to the pack bridges if they aren’t maintained? Now it will be easier than ever to get away with illegally landing a helicopter on a gravel bar on the S. Fork of the Flathead River within the Bob Marshall Wilderness for an afternoon of fly fishing. Who will provide wilderness education to the public who are hungry for this knowledge? The wilderness rangers, the ambassadors for wilderness, will be gone. The wilderness fairies aren’t going to be able to haul all the illegal caches and garbage out on their own. Donald Trump and his sidekick Musk Rat don’t care. They just want to open the door to gas & oil exploration and then sell it off to the highest bigger. Climate change is a hoax, right?
Please save our wilderness!!
We can not allow the current malaise of der Führer tRump’s dismantling plan for our National Parks (+ Lands), Rangers, staffing and deforestation. We must fight the Administration!
WE NEED OUR WILDERNESS RANGERS !!!!
What can I say? I am left completely speechless by what is happening to the United States. I have no words to express my despair and feelings of hopelessness. Please God help you all.
Standing with the rangers. The harm the orange cheeto is doing will affect our natural spaces for decades. He doesn’t care. What an idiot.
Restore the Rangers who do hard work and protect our treasures
!
I hope this petition will not land on deaf ears of an already destructive and useless Trump administration.
Immediately restore all wilderness, national park workers, rangers and others stewarding our nation’s natural resources!
My whole family and I treasure wilderness. It must be preserved to save the Earth, wildlife and human life.
There is no returning if we abandon our commitment to maintaining the precious natural open spaces of wilderness in the USA and elsewhere. We must be bold enough to stand up for nature in the raw. We are used to living in ever more crowded cities, using up tons of resources at a flick of our finger tips. We need these rangers to keep us from destroying the balance, exploring out in the wild without much human disturbance. We can visit mindfully but not leave a permanent mark with their guidance.
Wilderness rangers must be protected against illegal firings and for their beautiful work to protect our public lands.
save nature and public lands
Trump’s draining the swamp should start at the highest levels of government. Sending out a standard form letter to “fire” workers is just too easy and shows no thought given to valued workers.
It is important to save all we can on this earth. We cannot afford to let someone take it away.
This is all so wrong, it’s what happens when you ellect someone as moronically unhinged as Trump.
Having hiked the Great Smoky Mountains National Park portion of the Appalachian Trail several times, beginning in 1955, I can relate to the conditions, needs, problems, etc., which are mentioned in the article. All national and state forests and parks need adequate employed personnel and volunteers to be properly maintained. I hope our valuable lands will not become drilling and mining fields. We Americans need to fight for our parks and forests to be preserved for the years to come.
Trump-Musk and the GOP congress must stop killing all that is good in US!!!
Thank you for your ongoing dedication and service to the wildness and wilderness we all cherish and revere. Thank you for your service to this country and we will fight to reinstate your jobs! We need you! Thank you for the lovely essay, and thank you for not giving up.
It is a travesty what that moron Trump is doing to our country! And no symbol is more representative than his gross disrespect for our natural heritage!
Please do all you can to stop this imbecile from further destruction!
These indiscriminate firings by Trump and the richest person in the world have nothing to do with improving efficiency and everything to do with rendering the government impotent and giving tax breaks to the oligarchs. I am grateful to the Wilderness Ranger for giving us a vivid description of how vital the on the ground work of Wilderness Stewardship is.
Why U.S. Forest Service Employees Are Essential
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) plays a critical role in protecting and managing over 190 million acres of national forests and grasslands, ensuring these public lands remain healthy, sustainable, and accessible for future generations. The dedicated employees of the USFS serve in a variety of essential roles, each contributing to the stewardship of our nation’s natural resources.
Guardians of the Environment
USFS employees work tirelessly to maintain the ecological balance of our forests, protecting watersheds, wildlife habitats, and plant biodiversity. They combat deforestation, invasive species, and climate change impacts while promoting reforestation and responsible land use. Their efforts help sustain clean air, fresh water, and thriving ecosystems—critical resources for both wildlife and people.
Wildfire Prevention and Response
Wildland firefighters, rangers, and forest managers play a vital role in preventing and combating wildfires. With fire seasons growing longer and more intense due to climate change, their expertise in fire suppression, controlled burns, and fuel reduction strategies is more crucial than ever. They not only save lives and property but also protect entire ecosystems from devastation.
Protecting Public Lands and Recreation
Millions of people visit national forests every year for hiking, camping, fishing, and other outdoor activities. USFS employees maintain trails, ensure visitor safety, and enforce regulations that preserve natural beauty while allowing public enjoyment. Their work supports outdoor recreation, which generates billions in economic activity and fosters a deep connection between people and nature.
Sustainable Forestry and Resource Management
Balancing conservation with responsible resource use is a key mission of the USFS. Employees oversee sustainable logging practices, ensuring that forests remain productive without being depleted. They also support programs that promote the use of non-timber forest products, such as medicinal plants and edible species, providing economic benefits while preserving ecosystems.
Research and Climate Resilience
The USFS is at the forefront of scientific research on forestry, climate change, and ecosystem health. Their findings guide policies on carbon sequestration, watershed management, and forest regeneration. As climate change accelerates, their expertise helps develop strategies to make forests more resilient to extreme weather, pests, and diseases.
Defenders of Wildlife and Biodiversity
Forest Service biologists and ecologists work to protect endangered species and maintain healthy ecosystems. By restoring habitats and implementing conservation initiatives, they help ensure that native wildlife—from grizzly bears to migratory birds—can thrive in their natural environments.
Community Support and Rural Development
USFS employees collaborate with local communities, Indigenous nations, and private landowners to support sustainable land management practices. They provide jobs, fund conservation initiatives, and help rural economies thrive by promoting responsible tourism and forestry programs.
Stewards of Future Generations
Perhaps most importantly, the work of the U.S. Forest Service ensures that America’s forests will remain intact and thriving for future generations. Their efforts not only protect nature but also preserve the cultural and historical significance of our public lands, inspiring future conservationists and outdoor enthusiasts.
Without the dedication of USFS employees, our forests would be vulnerable to destruction, overuse, and mismanagement. Their work safeguards one of our nation’s most valuable treasures—our public lands—ensuring they continue to provide clean air, water, recreation, and biodiversity for all.
THe lack of compassion for employees and lack of protecting our wildlife and parks is so cruel and unwarranted. Just to fulfill the delusions of those in charge of our country. This must stop.
This is a national tragedy. Our national parks are going to become literal waste lands simply because the government wants to save money. I call bullshit! People need places to go to experience the treasure of what’s left of this country’s open spaces. I hope the government does not intend to open up these public lands to more oil drilling, something this country does not need. We need to save our environment, not destroy it.
Please hire back our park rangers now!
our public land stewards, the protectors of your Wilderness, were fired. Not due lack of funding, not due to lack of work, not due to poor performance, but due to a complete lack of understanding, and an act of cruelty against federal employees.
The dust has had time to settle, and we can now assess the damage. All probationary Forest Service employees in “non-fire” positions were fired. There are almost no wilderness rangers left in my state and many of my neighboring states. Beyond Wilderness, there are almost no field-going recreation employees left. The temporaries are gone, the permanent seasonals are gone. Without staff, many ranger districts will struggle to even utilize volunteers or host Americorp interns.
The government is supposed to serve the people. How the firing of employees of the people will help this country is beyond me. I guess only an oligarch and his power hungry, greedy cohorts and the ones they have conned are deserving of their positions. We will not sit idly by while they compromise everything that is good about this country.
The only ones who need to be fired are Trump and his cohorts, and if those who supported him don’t see this, then they are blinded by the con and we all may be doomed.
Public lands are exactly what that term means: public. The National Parks and protected areas are what make America great, and there’s no “again” about it. It is obvious why we need rangers to both aid and enforce regulations so these precious lands and the wildlife and nature they support can thrive, especially in light of the challenges wrought by climate change and increased visitation.
We must all unite and stand up against what is the biggest-ever theft and corporate giveaway attempts in this country’s history. This is not about politics, it is about justness, integrity, and our Constitutional rights.
This is not normal or acceptable. Wilderness needs to be protected.
Our wild places are vitally important to our American values, freedom & spirit. They restore our sense of wholeness, remind us we live in this beautiful natural world and must be the best stewards of it that we can.
That means we need the responsible and dedicated rangers. They protect it from our over-loving these areas. We are too many people for these parks & beautiful wilderness areas not to be watched over.
Sincerely
Margaret A Cooley
Without our wilderness, what is America? Our natural spaces are among our greatest sources of pride and refuge from the pace of modern day life. They provide vital habitat to dwindling wildlife and rare plants. They attract countless visitors from around the world to discover their wonder. The rangers and other stewards of these lands maintain trails, remove waste, reduce fire risk, and educate the public about how to respectfully enjoy our shared wilderness. The abandonment of these stewards is a disgrace to all Americans. Regardless of political party, we can all agree that safe and beautiful wilderness must be protected. I urge the current presidential administration and all other decision makers to right the terrible wrong they have committed.
Shame on everyone who voted to allow these monsters to devastate 60 years of protection of federally-designated Wilderness under the Wilderness Act of 1964. These monsters told us what they wanted to do during the election campaign and received enough votes to win anyway. They are acting illegally and violating our Constitution and multiple federal laws, but even if the courts stop them eventually, much damage and terrible losses will occur in the meantime.
Help save Wildlife and endangered species.
The maintenance and care of our wilderness areas, national forests, and national parks is of vital importance. The recent reckless terminations of thousands of fedederal employees is an outrage and jeopardizes these national treasures. Hire these workers back immediately.
It is critical to maintain park rangers.
When you have a piece of you know what for a President that said the only thing he cares about is money and other peoples money, then the environment means nothing to him especially if he can’t extort money from it.
This is what happens when you vote for Republicans.
And they’re not done. They would LOVE to repeal the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act. the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Wilderness Act and sell off the national parks and national forests.
It is with absolute disgrace that the United States of America has narrowly elected a team of uninformed and delinquent miscreants to manage the resource affairs that have improved wilderness recreation for well over one hundred years. Their false claim of “making America great again” is their euphemism for “making America’s top 1% richer” with their blatant, unabashed and unlawful seizing of America’s resources for their schemes of greed and avarice with the ultimate goal of dismembering the government founded in 1776. They are indifferent to the Republic for which the rest of American’s stand!
Why does it seem to take a rocket scientist to realize all these people being fired is NOT a good idea? The general public will not treat wilderness as good as Park Rangers in terms of careful use and clean up. This will lead to trash being left where dropped, vandalism will occur (it already has in some parks to natural features destroyed) and people could die because they refuse to follow posted rules.
I spent my entire childhood vacationing with family in state and national parks. It was joyful and my parents were very careful.
Then late in life I lived right next to a natinal park in a home i had built. I was there 15 years until my husband died. I love the wilderness and want these parks supported. I pay a lot of taxes and am horrified with the Trump administration.
Wilderness is absolutely necessary for our sense of pride in our country, and individual sanity.
Trump and musk, do not understand, simply do not understand, that our wilderness is the most precious thing America has. Far more important than giving billionaires tax breaks.
The firing of Wilderness and Forest Service personnel is a great disservice to the public as well as the protection of our lands. I utilize wilderness and parks all the time for camping and hiking as do many, many others. I am disgusted by the current administration’s disrespect for the hardworking individuals who maintain our lands as well as their disrespect for natural environments.
Thank you for speaking out! As a former temporary Urban Park Ranger, I empathize with you and admire your work. We need to stop the desecration of the Wilderness of the US now.
I continue to be stunned at how reckless the mass firing of National Park Service and Forest Service employees. Our public lands our precious and a shining example of wilderness and the great outdoors. People from all over the world desire to visit these magical places. They need protection and conservation. Please restore these workers to their positions now.
Wilderness is valuable in so many ways, and its preservation and protection needs the unjustifiably fired staff to be reinstated immediately,
Wilderness rangers are needed to keep our parks open and
functioning for all the people who enjoy visiting our parks.
Please reconsider the deep cuts to necessary staff who service
our parks.
Please be environmentally responsible.
STOP DESTROYING OUR PLANET
The parks and wilderness belongs to all of us and no one has any right to harm or diminish them in any way. It was a republican who began protecting wilderness and establishing parks for us. He knew and we know that the forest holds many gifts for us, can calm and heal us, help us to realize we are part of Nature. The current administration is blind to it’s many gifts and they are the ones most in need of the forests’ medicine. We cannot let such places be harmed by this blind search for more money, for the rich, not for the country, which is dying.
For 15 yrs. I was a volunteer for the USFS in the Angeles Nat. forest . I did the very same job , hiking trails where forest service employees did not go to destinations such as campgrounds not accessible by car. I maintained bathrooms , cleaned camps , stopped people who had illegal fires built , also put out fires I came across when driving a patrol truck , and removed grafitti . Unlike most , I was allowed to drive that truck when my supervisor was out of town . Otherwise I would drive a forest service pickup to the trailheads. I was the only one who hiked into many places that needed inspection and maintenance . There were times I came across people who needed medical attention . I had a radio I could call in to get them assistance . Though unpaid , I looked forward to doing that duty 2 to 4 days a week and the time spent was thousands of hours . My supervisor became a very good friend . There is no way the forest would have had the same protections without my involvement . I stopped doing it when I moved away from the area . I was informed nobody was going to the sites that I did , thus the forest protection and camp maintenance took a big hit in quality . The loss of people who do these totally necessary jobs will certainly be tested by having more fires , far less attractiveness and care and besides the forest , the public will be the ones who suffer . This administration is out of control . Perhaps putting someone in charge that has multiple bankruptcies in their resume was a serious mistake .
Can we find some compassion?
The staff necessary for maintaining the health and beauty of our natural places must be rehired and the funding must be restored.
protect wilderness act
we need the forest employees…to protect the our National Parks Visiors and wildlife ….We need to know when we are visiting one of our National Parks if something happens there will be a Park Ranger available to help either a Human Or Wildlife.
These cuts are reckless, ruthless, wasteful and illegal!
The indiscriminate firing of Forest Service employees is a disgrace. Without wilderness rangers, pit toilets will overflow, trash will pile up, more fragile alpine vegetation will be trampled by tents, feet, and fire rings, tripping over human and pet waste will become even more common, and already crowded areas likely will have no one to enforce wilderness permit requirements. I fear these precious, fragile places will have their wilderness character destroyed. Shame on DOGE.
Save jobs, forests 🌳, and animals. Thank you.
I am against the firing of wilderness rangers. We need Forest Stewards.I agree with Wilderness Watch. Without wilderness rangers, pit toilets will overflow, trash will pile up, more fragile alpine vegetation will be trampled by tents, feet, and fire rings, tripping over human and pet waste will become even more common, and already crowded areas likely will have no one to enforce wilderness permit requirements. I fear these precious, fragile places will have their wilderness character destroyed.
Thank you.
G. Paxton
Leave our park rangers alone! Give them their jobs back! We need them. The parks are OUR LAND!!! We need more good stewards of the land, not less!
Stop firing park rangers. We already didn’t have enough personnel to protect our parks and educate the public and now you’re firing more? Our parks need more protection not less in order to ensure future generations will continue to enjoy them for centuries to come. Hands off our parks.
Yes. Save the wild natural places!
Our Congressionally-designated Wilderness areas, & public lands as a whole, are now in greater danger than they have ever been. Visitation continues to increase, & the presence of wilderness rangers is more important than ever.
Without wilderness rangers, pit toilets will overflow, trash will pile up, more fragile alpine vegetation will be trampled by tents, feet, & fire rings, tripping over human & pet waste will become even more common, & already crowded areas likely will have no one to enforce wilderness permit requirements. These precious, fragile places will have their wilderness character destroyed.
We value public lands & wild spaces, & it is time to stand up for Wilderness.
It is of utmost importance to protect Americas wilderness and in order to do this we need wilderness rangers on the ground to provide the care, services and protection to ensure that they are not destroyed or degraded.
The firing of the people who care for the national parks and forests is not only an ignorant thing by to do, it’s also inhumane! I wish nothing but the best for those who have served our country in their positions with our national treasures, and I hope they are returned to do the great work they continue to do very soon.
Please help us find a way to stop this cruelty not only to those who unjustly lost their jobs but to our fragile lands and all who inhabit them.
Wilderness must be preserved for all wild things and for my great-great-great -great grandchildren
Our public lands are essential to our lives. There is not a soul that has ever gone to a national or state park that ignored the fact that nature is key to our existence. With that we need people to be stewards of this land so we have these precious resources for 100’s of years ahead. Money does not make the world go round. Nature is invaluable and we need to cherish it like our life depends upon it.
The cuts, particularly to our National Parks are flat wrong. As it was, Parks has been underfunded over the past several years and understaffed in some areas. With more cuts to Parks, it is going to destroy what the Park Service has long tried to establish.
Save our valuable rangers and our wilderness.
We must fight to keep whatever is left of our wildernesses. These areas will help to save our planet and all life on it. This administration isn’t fit to make any decisions on any of our problems. They just create problems. I believe that we must remove all of them. Trump must be impeached.
I am sorry that the powers that make the changes don’t have any idea of what is needed to protect this country’s wilderness. If they did, we would have all our forest rangers still on the job. Now is the time to put these hard-working people back on the job before the season starts. I only see disaster happening, including fire in the wilderness like what happened in California unless these hard-working forest rangers are returned to their jobs. The head of the departments or whoever is making these wrong decisions need to correct their decisions now before this country that they claim they want to protect is ruined and polluted. We need more forest rangers and less political people who don’t know how to protect our wilderness the way it should be protected. Thank you.
The wilderness must be protected and preserved no matter what.
Trump and his cronies have no business making decisions about the environment, since they think that destroying it has no consequences.
A really heart-wrenching share. The author worked so hard and was so dedicated. The mass firings going on are uncalled for and so very unnecessary. I worry a lot about our wild places. One heartless man can get a notion and get away with wreaking havoc. I hope all fired workers under this terrible president will be able to return to their hard-earned jobs and we can heal from the devastation that sure seems to be coming.
It is all sickening. We are losing such valuable people to the stupidity and greed of a few. I can only hope sanity and the law will prevail. By then our trusted employees will have moved on. The stress of the current situation is unbearable.
We’re with you. Please contact your senate, congress, state reps, governor. We need people like you as stewards of our forests. Without you I think companies will come in and try to log, hunt and mine. We must keep people and companies from destroying our legacy that the forests give us.
Please preserve all our wilderness for our children and grandchildren
I am outraged that President Trump has fired half of the Park Rangers and the quality of the wilderness will not be the same.
I believe these jobs are extremely important to help keep our lands healthy and managing them for the enjoy of the American people and our visitors. There is so much that goes into the Forestry Department and the people who do these jobs deserve to keep them and they are important. Please express this to the president so they can get their jobs back and keep our lands managed and the lively hood of the parks going so we can experience these opportunities. Thank you.
Our wilderness is our Legacy. First off, it is not ours. It is Mother Earth’s who has generously provided her beauty, home and vast resources of food and medicines. We are guests on Mother Earth. I am appalled how far humanity has become disconnected from Nature. There appears to be no respect for what we are provided or self-respect.
We must protect Mother Earth and find a balanced solution to the outright devastation that is being implemented.
Absolutely debating to read this update. The wilderness rangers do a fantastic job stewarding these beautiful, irreplaceable landscapes. It leaves the future of them in peril together with the wildlife and the people who visit. What a terrible way to treat dedicated staff who execute all the duties and responsibilities of their role which clearly are not understood by the government and who doesn’t care.
Save Our Wilderness!
You can make a positive difference!
Bring back our employees for our parks!
These decisions, made by a mad felon and his Republican supporters, must not be allowed to stand. Everyone must refuse their orders and demand impeachment of both T&V ASAP.
I am concerned about recent firings which will affect our wilderness areas. They are essential to the environment as well as to our tradition of a land of a variety of areas of interest.
susi westwood
It pains me to say this, but the fact that one party has decided to fall full on into a dictatorship…. that all of the ideals, the liberties, the freedoms that Americans’ have come to rely on are now under attack. Make no mistake, the oligarchy, the tech bro’s the Christofascists want to take away these freedoms. These beautiful American landscapes are jewels in our crown…. and some horrendously mentally ill president has decided that he is all entitled to this, and his treasonous party has gladly aligned themselves with antidemocracy, anticonstitution. What a sad time this is, our past presidents would be rolling in their graves to see how easy America has fallen. Shame on this administration. Shame on these parasites taking over this country. What they are doing is illegal, it is wrong, and against the law. America belongs to her people, the parks belong to America, not some stupid man and his sidekick.
Please reconsider your termination actions which not only affect these selfless human beings, but also all of us who value the beautiful American wilderness.
Our Congressionally-designated Wilderness areas, and public lands as a whole, are in greater danger than they have ever been. Visitation continues to increase, and the presence of wilderness rangers is more important than ever.
Without wilderness rangers, pit toilets will overflow, trash will pile up, more fragile alpine vegetation will be trampled by tents, feet, and fire rings, tripping over human and pet waste will become even more common, and already crowded areas likely will have no one to enforce wilderness permit requirements. I fear these precious, fragile places will have their wilderness character destroyed.
It is time to stand up for our public lands and Wilderness. It is time to reinstate all wilderness rangers who were fired so senselessly by the current administration.
I am devastated by this rampant destruction of Forest Service employees. I too was a Wilderness Ranger for the Forest Service. I retired in 2018 and was encouraged by the Biden administration and its understanding of the importance of Wilderness management. The Trump administration has just done illegal firing of Valuable employees. We must stand up for competent experienced Wilderness Rangers.
National Parks are the heart of our country. All my life, I have visited them and valued them. Future generations deserve the same chance to enjoy and admire this land. We must protect and maintain our National Parks and the National Park Service.
We The People value our parks, forests and precious wildlife. Let the Rangers and other employees do their jobs and reinstate the employees. Just because you do not like trees, prairies and animals doesn’t give you the right to destroy it all. The land belongs to all people.
Save our national treasure
In February, the Trump administration laid off approximately 3,400 U.S. Forest Service employees and 1,000 National Park Service employees, including rangers and trail crew members nationwide. All probationary Forest Service employees in “non-fire” positions were laid off. State rangers are nearly gone, recreation field workers, temporary workers, and permanent seasonal workers are gone. Without staff, many ranger districts will struggle to even utilize volunteers or house Americorp interns. Our congressionally designated wilderness areas, and public lands as a whole, are now in greater danger than ever. Visitation continues to increase, and ranger presence is more important than ever. Without rangers, pit toilets will overflow, trash will pile up, fragile alpine vegetation will be trampled by tents, feet, and fire rings, tripping over human and pet waste will become even more common, and already crowded areas will likely have no one to enforce wilderness permit requirements. We fear that these precious and fragile places will have their wild character destroyed. We value public lands and wild spaces, and we need to defend nature.
We need the rangers to protect our wild lands, Trump had no right to fire them .
Whatever Trump touches he destroys, he is a criminal and belongs in jail!
Wilderness and park employees are essential workers. They are not government bloat!!
The mass firings of wilderness and park employees is heinous. We need these rangers and wilderness stewards.
Our Congressionally-designated Wilderness areas and public lands are now in grave danger. With visitation continuing to increase, the presence of wilderness rangers is more important than ever.
Without wilderness rangers, pit toilets will overflow, trash will pile up, more fragile alpine vegetation will be trampled by tents, feet, and fire rings, tripping over human and pet waste will become even more common, and already crowded areas likely will have no one to enforce wilderness permit requirements.
These fragile places will have their wilderness character destroyed.
Reinstate park and wilderness employees immediately.
Wilderness areas need to be monitored to be protected. Restore funding for the employees who do this work.
Recent massive layoffs shows an indifference towards our public lands & the Rangers who have done everything right to protect them. This administration seems on a path to destroy all the wild places people love & enjoy.
It was disastrous for the Trump administration to fire, without cause, all the Wilderness Workers who maintain our public lands. They must be reinstated immediately!
I am devastated by the careless and utterly ignorant treatment of our
precious wilderness areas and the rediculous and MEAN firing of very dedicated workers of every description. The Trump administration can’t end fast enough! The harm caused will take YEARS to undo, if it is
even at all possible.
Thank you for your service. What happened to you and so many others is terrible – terrible for you and terrible for all of us who care about the wilderness and the important functions of other agencies that are being stripped of their most valuable assets – dedicated employees. I hope you’ll go back to that dream job in a few years.
It is critical to our health and well-being to be able to experience the beauty of the natural world as it exists in our National Parks, largely untouched by human constructions. We are PART of the EARTH, our well-being depends on the health of the earth. We are being assaulted by an ignorant, self-imposed power that has no understanding of everything of value he is making every effort to destroy. I hope he will self-destruct soon and leave us to survive.
Human beings are responsible for being the caretakers of the land and for the future generations. We will be judged by our actions and the results of these actions. Hopefully we pass this test.!
This is just short sightedness on the part of the Trump administration. Just appalling and needs to be fixed by rehiring those “let go.”
Many of America’s wilderness areas are the protected habitats for various species of wildlife and plant life that require the oversight of the Forestry Service. The Forestry Service ensures that those areas remain safe and habitable for the various animals, birds, aquatic life, and plant life that flourish there. Also, the many magnificent federal and state parks that allow public access to their fields, streams, lakes, mountains, and deserts for recreational purposes require the vigilant and reliable oversight of trained forest rangers and other staff. They provide necessary oversight to ensure the proper maintenance and functioning of those public outdoor spaces, as well careful supervision and monitoring to ensure the safety of all visitors. Please continue to support the Forestry Service and the important work it does in caring for the wilderness regions and public parks so vital to the survival of America’s wildlife, as well as the important services it provides to the many visitors who enjoy our nation’s vast public parks for outdoor sports and other outdoor activities.
Protect our wilderness. Don’t slash funding for critical National Park service employees.
Wilderness is too important to neglect. Without wilderness rangers, pit toilets will overflow, trash will pile up, more fragile alpine vegetation will be trampled by tents, feet, and fire rings, tripping over human and pet waste will become even more common, and already crowded areas likely will have no one to enforce wilderness permit requirements. I fear these precious, fragile places will have their wilderness character destroyed.
People from all over the world and ourselves travel to the parks
This requires major upkeep. Just because billionaires don’t use parks doesn’t mean the parks don’t REQUIRE PROPER UPKEEP. RESTORE THE PEOPLE FIRED. They do work hard to maintain vast areas that otherwise would be destroyed.
Our open spaces must be preserved.
Hire Back ASAP Our Cherished Natl. Park Service Employees w- Out Delay Period.
The recent firings and dismissals of wilderness rangers are deeply concerning. These dedicated individuals play a crucial role in maintaining the safety and integrity of our backcountry areas. Without their presence, we can expect chaotic visitor experiences, including unattended campfires and overflowing pit toilets. This not only poses a significant risk to the environment but also to the safety of visitors. It’s imperative that we recognize the value of these rangers and advocate for their reinstatement to ensure the preservation of our natural spaces.
Disgraceful. Trump and Musk just don’t care about regular people, especially field staff working in National Parks or Wilderness areas
They would rather dig them up and mine them for personal profit. What a collection of scumbags we have running the government including the Co-president
It is truly heartbreaking that a couple of greedy, self-absorbed, guys with more money than brains or foresight..are in the process of destroying everything good about America. Hopefully, people with sounder judgement will prevail and we can once again return to sane care of all we hold dear.
God Bless 🙏 ♥️ ❤️ 🙌. Please save God’s creatures God Bless Be humane
Wilderness is critical to species survival and water quality for all. Our public lands deserve to be cherished and cared for by paid stewards of the land.
Protect our public lands. We should be designating more new national parks and hiring more rangers,not raping the planet in every way imaginable.
Bad move by ignorant current US government.
Firings were completely irresponsible and short-sighted.
Boycott boycott boycott.
DEPOSE!
Firing our forest rangers and national park personnel is reprehensible. Agencies were understaffed to begin with. Our public lands bring in billions of dollars of revenue each year. We need to maintain our lands and forests and preserve this revenue generating engine for the U.S. government. Please restore their jobs and hire more people. The American people care about our greatest legacy which is our public lands.
I know how much I treasure my own 1.5 acres of “wilderness” near
Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which I’m happy was so designated just in time to prevent what is known as “development”, but which I refer to as DE-velopment.
btg
Stripping the country of stewards of our land only makes sense in a Dictatorial government. We need these people and yet, they are thrown aside. Shame on Trump and Musk!
Bad move by ignorant current US government.
Firings were completely irresponsible and short-sighted.
Boycott boycott boycott.
Bring back our Rangers! They are needed. Incredibly short-sighted to fire them.
Not a great job by US government.
People did not support this.
Please protect our public lands and the fragile wilderness areas that will be so important to future generations. We need wilderness rangers to do this. Our nation needs our federal government to protect what is left of our natural landscape. Please reinstate these important and critical employees.
There is now way to undo the damage this idiotic, reckless order will create. Man can not recreate nature; once it is gone….it is lost forever.
The people that enjoy our National Parks want our employees back at work. Without park employees visitors will destroy the environment leaving human waste , trampling plants, vandalizing trees. Hire the employees back.
Maybe closing parks for a year or two would let them revive.
Impeach Trump. His destructive agenda must be stopped.
I fear every minute of the day that this country—and the world—will not survive this monster.
This situation is untenable, outlandish, offensive and shocking to the individual soul and to the soul of
American and to the soul of the world. The elected Republicans can choose to pay attention to their soul and stand up. If they do not, they will face soul demise
This is a disaster in the making. So many years of care of your wilderness is just thrown out the window. The public cannot have access to vulnerable spaces without a supervisory and maintenance staff, they will just destory the wild spaces. Many people use public wild lands with respect and knowledge of what they are doing to these vulnerable locations. But so many don’t, they leave waste everywhere and don’t observe sustainable practices. The current administration has no idea of what it is doing with this scorched earth approach to their policies. I am so sorry for all the hardworking dedicated people that have been affected by these policies.
Summer of 2023 traveled in an RV the trip through Yellowstone National Park was so beautiful however I was saddened by the lack of wildlife around Yellowstone we entered or exited the park through all (5) park entrance locations and drove through most of Yellowstone and had to work at seeing wildlife very few sightings and now someone who only sees wildlife as a distraction from development has no problem destroying the wildlife in our parks for financial gain of a few but at the devastating loss of our wildlife instead of carving in mountain sides and building more golf courses how about showing some respect for what has been gifted to us and the wildlife we share the earth with better yet how about contributing the millions of tax payers money that one person waste fully spends when they should be fixing things not destroying them instead of golfing!
What the hell are you thinking??
The dust has had time to settle, and we can now assess the damage. All probationary Forest Service employees in “non-fire” positions were fired. There are almost no wilderness rangers left. Beyond Wilderness, there are almost no field-going recreation employees left. The temporaries are gone, the permanent seasonals are gone. Without staff, many ranger districts will struggle to even utilize volunteers or host Americorp interns.
Our Congressionally-designated Wilderness areas, and public lands as a whole, are now in greater danger than they have ever been. Visitation continues to increase, and the presence of wilderness rangers is more important than ever.
Without wilderness rangers, pit toilets will overflow, trash will pile up, more fragile alpine vegetation will be trampled by tents, feet, and fire rings, tripping over human and pet waste will become even more common, and already crowded areas likely will have no one to enforce wilderness permit requirements. I fear these precious, fragile places will have their wilderness character destroyed.
If you think you will earn my vote by supporting this, you are sadly mistaken.
Everything about all of this is so pointless and painful and heartbreaking, and completely unneeded. America’s wildernesses are some of our most precious resources, places of unique and irreplaceable beauty, and most important, are the soul of the American people. Cruelly firing their stewards is insane, full-stop.
These unjustified layoffs are both stupid and cruel. Field employees are doing the work to protect federally mandated wilderness lands. When the National Parks were first established, Congress finally realized that dedicated people (rangers, maintenance, interpreters, biologists) are essential and finally passed the NPS organic act in 1916. We can’t wait for decades to undo the harm being done by these staffing cuts .
Please protect our public lands for all to enjoy. And for the protection of our environment which provides a healthy planet on which to live.
Please protect our national parks and wild places. National parks are vital for us and for wildlife. We need wildlife places to enjoy. God gave us such a beautiful earth and it’s our job to protect it and ensure future generations will have beautiful places and wildlife to enjoy. Please reconsider your decision about the park Rangers and bring them back. Give them their jobs back. Please!
Public wilderness areas and our national parks are priceless gems and have been since 1872, when Yellowstone Park was established.
Like every community these lands need a law enforcement group to serve and protect them.
Without Park Rangers, these areas will be overwhelmed with “do as they please “ visitors and the land and parks will be decimated.
It is time to increase and strengthen the Park Service and its Rangers, so these lands will remain the beautiful areas they are now and for generations to come.
Thank you!
This is so sad. I have loved being outdoors my entire life. I traveled as a young person and would always stop at all of the parks big and small. Now I love going out there with my family, and I am so sorry that this is happening. It is cruel. It is dangerous. It is unfair. But please know that I am working hard to change the landscape of the government right now, and I hope that someday you will have your dream job back and all of your fellow rangers as well.
I find this systematic firing of so many government agency employees, very disturbing and reckless. We depend on these people and agencies to help keep us safe, if not healthy. I suppose the end goal is to ” thin the herd”, get them out of the way for your goal of control. You must really believe empathy is the enemy. Until you need to be on the receiving end of empathy, you will never understand.
And the worse news is state parks are usually underfunded and can’t hire these feds. It’s a sledgehammer instead of a scalpel. Shame. Our parks are the best ideas America ever had after free speech.
Although the rich that are in “charge” do not care about preserving our most precious wilderness areas and national parks, the majority of Americans do!
I know there is nothing I can say to change their minds and this abject cruelty will most likely continue, but people are watching and they are tired and don’t want to see good hard working employees who’ve dedicated their lives to protecting our wild lands treated like nothing.
Thank you for your service & caring.
The greed of those presently in
Charge will eventually self distruct,
But pray humanity & nature will survive & thrive again.
What Musk and Trump are doing to this country and the world is shameless, mindless, clueless but nonetheless, devastating to forest rangers and other agency workers. But where is the pushback, resistance from our elected officials? How about the past and living Presidents? Where is the great orator Obama?
Even Bush? Remember Biden? Where are they?
I am so so sad . As someone who enjoys wilderness camping this breaks my heart. I don’t know what to do. I call my representatives( who are Magas) and I send emails and post cards but other than closing down all the parks until something changes I fear our public lands are going to be decimated.
Thank you for your letter. All we can do at this point is hope for the best.
Actions by this administration are ruining the accessibility and
effectiveness of exploring America’s wilderness areas. Reverse the firing of badly needed employees who are the caretakers of these public lands!
Without wilderness rangers, pit toilets will overflow, trash will pile up, more fragile alpine vegetation will be trampled by tents, feet, and fire rings, tripping over human and pet waste will become even more common, and already crowded areas likely will have no one to enforce wilderness permit requirements. I fear these precious, fragile places will have their wilderness character destroyed.
Please save our nature and wildlife
I see now all wild areas being under threat from a government that cares nothing about land only the resources they can make money off of by extraction. These people are evil please put all these rangers and forest workers back to work. Thank you JFK.
This was totally unacceptable for administration to fire so many rangers. We need to hire more of themto keep things under control in the national parks and so that plenty of tourists can come and explore them.
The mass firing of wilderness rangers is unacceptable. Shame on the Trump administration and all those who support it’s ignorant approach to “governing”.
Congressionally-designated Wilderness areas, and public lands as a whole, are now in greater danger than they have ever been. Visitation continues to increase, and the presence of wilderness rangers is more important than ever.
Without wilderness rangers, pit toilets will overflow, trash will pile up, more fragile alpine vegetation will be trampled by tents, feet, and fire rings, tripping over human and pet waste will become even more common, and already crowded areas likely will have no one to enforce wilderness permit requirements. I fear these precious, fragile places will have their wilderness character destroyed.
The President flushes the toilet on many profound American values and positive Societal systems!
Rehire the people who are stewards of our natural spaces. Protecting these irreplaceable resources and the people who visit is the responsibility of our government.
Stop decimating our country!
Plato wrote “To know is to act and to act is to know.” Insufficient knowledge in other words prevents action, and the failure of Trump and his administration to protect our national forests and national resources reflects profound ignorance.
This forest ranger’s experience is a chilling example of the recklessness of the whole DOGE project. There’s a legal term for recklessness at this degree: negligent homicide. DOGE’s recklessness verges on the criminal throughout its range anda, as in this instance, crosses over into criminal territory. DOGE must be investigated and its leaders prosecuted.
The future of our precious wilderness and public lands replies on the dedicated employees who have been trained to care for them. These persons are vital to preserving these lands, and their jobs need to be reinstated! PLEASE! I want my tax money to pay for preserving wilderness and natural beauty, not building up the military or giving tax breaks to the super-rich.
I stand with everyone who works for the environment
There should be more of you not less what are these
people thinking?
Stupid and shameful decision just against USA People, Nature and Biodiversity, SHAME FOR trump and musk
I love wilderness and I’m here to protect our wild non mechanical, non motorized areas. We must pass and enforce ecocide laws that hold the avarice responsible for crimes they commit against Nature and our protected lands. Capitalism and Conservatism is destroying our environment and our civilization. We must Stop Ecocide and we must protect our Wilderness at all costs.
I’m so sorry this has happened to you. Americans and our foreign visitors will suffer because of the damage drump has wrought. Our beautiful parks will now be able to accommodate their visitors in the wonderful way they always have.
drump is a horror and a threat to our America. He is ruining our country. I wish I had a legal solution to get rid of him. But I don’t.
Apart from the crassness of firing valuable workers and the effect it will have on their lives, as you say:
“I fear these precious, fragile places will have their wilderness character destroyed.”
We very much hope this act will be rescinded and the wilderness and those who care for them will be saved.
Thank you for all you do for wildlife and the precious habitats in which they try to live.
The chaos happening in the administration is nothing more than revenge by a wannabe authoritarian dictator and a Gestapo that is ignoring Constitutional law and oath of office.
I understand your thoughts and agree with you, but is there something else going on not listed??? Bless you.
We believe in wilderness. Humans have taken enough space on earth.
These cuts are devastating and not in the long-term interest of the environment. Our public lands are there for all to enjoy. We need rangers and staff to protect the parks, keep them clean, and make sure visitors stay safe and follow the rules.
Without Rangers to protect our parks and wilderness lands, we are setting them up for destruction. More people are visiting these areas than ever before. Who will pick up trash, clean toilets, and prevent all these visitors from trampling sensitive areas? The American public owns these lands and values their protection. Once they are gone, they are gone forever. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to protect these lands. Please ensure that these areas will be protected, both for us now and for generations to come.
There is little point in commenting because despite what this incredibly educated, hard-working, patriotic, and needed employee says, s/he is a “government employee.” Those who voted for Trump are so devoted to “small government” with the idea that prices (determined by the private companies who profit by them) and taxes (whose purpose is to make life easier for all of us) will fall that they apparently will never notice billionaires laughing themselves sick as they dance to their banks. I deliberately leave no descendants behind but wonder what it is that these people think the earth will be like for their own children and grandchildren–even protected with money.
This tragedy will cost us and future generations the chance to experience the wilderness, and eliminate many of the species being protected there. And for what reason? So the mega-rich can have their taxes decreased. This is not the country we used to be.
I fear what will happen to our most fragile eco-systems. We cannot trust that humans can be responsible for themselves as evidenced by piles of trash thrown everywhere. The earth is NOT humans personal garbage dumping grounds. RESPECT EARTH, it belongs to ALL living beings
Keeping our national parks and monuments staffed, funded, fossil free, and healthy saves our mental sanity and physical wellbeing. We must fight the shortsighted tyranny that is out to destroy our unique heritage and stewardship.
RE-HIRE ALL FEDERAL WORKERS NOW, PLEASE!!! Thank you.
I support the comments of all the rangers expressing concern about the mass firings of rangers from the national parks and wilderness. A more thorough review of resources was needed before any firings. National parks must be fully staffed to protect the lands, visitors and wildlife.
The Trump administration must restore these important jobs to the people that are highly experienced and dedicated to keeping wild places protected and maintained. Without these federal employees, our wilderness will be trashed and ultimately, transformed into to something else entirely. It is important to keep wilderness and wildlife preserved.
While I have no connection to the Forest Service, I am deeply upset over these unnecessary developments. I am worried about what will happen to the ecology and the many animal species that are also impacted by this scorched earth policy. I would like to think that humans will be careful and considerate with leaving a trail of waste and debris behind them, but humans are not always known for cleaning up after themselves. This time it is supremely important that everyone do their part in helping all of us to appreciate our surroundings and leaving it pristine for other humans and nonhumans alike.
Stop impacting wilderness!!!
I am sorry. I am discussed and cannot beleive we would risk our public lands and national treasures….all for the greed of tax cuts for the wealthy.
I am a registered Republican and firing our National Forest and National Park employees is a travesty. These lands are what make America Beautiful and great.
Reinstate U.S. Forest Service and Park Service employees permanently! They are protectors of the wild places we need.
We need to restore the wildernesses to the perfection that they were, before Trump destroyed everything by firing the very much needed workers.
Only those, like Trump and his cabinet of fools, who are not connected to beauty, nature, and the planet, would seek to destroy, harm any or all of it. They have no integrity, no morals–only lust for power, control, money.
We need wilderness rangers for safety, directions , even ordinary and sanitary tasks. They are important people that are needed everyday.
Thank you for all you do.
Sincerely,
Debra Marge
Wilderness needs to be protected, taken care of and managed correctly. This is the present we can leave generations to come. Wild spaces, wild animals, and cleaner air because of it.
Development needs to be tightly controlled.
Wilderness and a healthy planet cannot be sacrificed for industrial profits. There is too much at stake for the well being of humanity and all other sentient beings.
With all the rangers gone from our wilderness areas the next step is to close these parks to everyone. Barricade the entrances and monitor any breaches or other illegal activity by cameras.
These wilderness areas will deteriorate without any Rangers. No Rangers = No Use.
What we are all witnessing is a coup, plain and simple. Government and its workers are in the way. The lunatic half of the nation elected, and the Committee that no one elected, want power, all the power. They want resources, all the resources. And they want no one to stand in the way. This is how to run a coup in a democracy without the military.
It is, so far, working. The longer this goes, the better at destroying America as we know it they will get. Everyone was warned, half of the nation didn’t listen or agreed with the stated agenda, gleaned directly from Project 2025. It takes decades to build something of worth; it takes sheer moments to destroy it all.
These are End Days.
It is urgent that we preserve and protect our environment and our wilderness areas. It is essential that we educate our citizens on the importance of caring for these areas for us and for the future generations.
Please protect our wilderness and help keep it safe and clean for all ti enjoy and live in
It is urgent that we preserve and protect our environment and our wilderness areas. It is essential that we educate our citizens on the importance of caring for these areas for us and for future generations.
I have been appalled and deeply saddened by the attacks on the Federal workforce, but the attacks on the rate group of workers who protect our remaining wilderness areas is unconscionable, reckless and just plain stupid. I pray that citizens unite to stop this and support and protect Federal wilderness rangers.
Land and all environments need to be protected we all need to do our best to protect them