The U.S. Forest Service is halting the hiring of seasonal employees next year as it anticipates receiving less than the $8.9 billion it says it needs to pay its 30,000 employees, manage its 193 million acres and fight wildfires.
While final allocations from Congress are pending, the chronically underfunded and overworked agency is planning to scale back operations in 2025, raising concerns among its many partners in Colorado that recreational projects will be delayed.
鈥淲e have an opportunity to do what we can with what we have,鈥�, noting that the agency has lost about 8,000 jobs in the last 20 years and he is 鈥渟eeing indications of a stressed workforce.鈥�
He told his employees that priorities would be shifting with reduced funding. 鈥淲e are not going to do everything that is expected of us with fewer people,鈥� he said.
For example, by NPR鈥檚 Marketplace asks who will pump campground toilets as the Forest Service budget shrinks? That鈥檚 a big ask for volunteers.
To read the entire story, visit .