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KUNC is among the founding partners of the Mountain West ڱ Bureau, a collaboration of public media stations that serve the Western states of Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

Voters concerned about economic effects of U.S. Forest Service and National Parks layoffs, poll finds

This is a wide-angle image of a park ranger walking on a dirt mountain trail. Tree-covered mountains are in the background.
Jim
/
Adobe Stock
A park ranger walking on the Highline Trail in Glacier National Park in Montana.

New polling shows widespread support for increasing or keeping funding the same for the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service. This comes on the heels of the Trump administration’s recent firings of federal park and forest employees.

Think tank Data for Progress found only 10% of voters support for the National Parks and U.S. Forest services.

Meanwhile, a majority of voters are “very” or “somewhat” concerned about the Trump administration’s firing of thousands of workers at those agencies.

Their top concern is the economic impacts of job losses on communities, and the ripple effect of reduced services and public safety at national parks.

Some are worried that cutting the Forest Service workforce, which manages 193 million acres of land, will increase the nation’s wildfire risk. That’s especially true in the West, where hotter and drier conditions linked to climate change have increased the frequency and intensity of wildfires.

Others are concerned the budget cuts to both federal agencies will lead to habitat loss and threats to wildlife, said Grace Adcox, senior climate strategist at Data for Progress.

“These impacts will be wide-reaching,” Adcox said. “With huge ramifications, not just for employees of the park services, but also anyone who might be wanting to enjoy that natural landscape or just see what their tax dollars have been going towards protecting and preserving.”

The staffing cuts have led to large organized protests at national parks across the country, including in the Mountain West region.

This story was produced by the Mountain West ڱ Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West ڱ Bureau is provided in part by the .

Kaleb is an award-winning journalist and KUNR’s Mountain West ڱ Bureau reporter. His reporting covers issues related to the environment, wildlife and water in Nevada and the region.