Rural areas rely on federal employment, and the Trump Administration’s job cuts hit those communities the hardest

The federal government owns vast swaths of land across the Western United States, and rural communities are sprinkled throughout. There is a symbiotic relationship between the federal government and these rural communities. The federal government employs people in rural communities to manage its landholdings, and rural communities rely on the federal government for their livelihoods. However, President Trump has upended this balance.

The federal government is one of the largest employers in many rural communities. This includes the United States Forest Service (Forest Service), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the National Park Service (NPS), to name a few. The Trump Administration has initiated mass layoffs of federal employees across many Federal Agencies. These layoffs have already decimated the NPS and its workforce.

The Forest Service and the BLM have also been hit hard by these layoffs. Rural communities are already feeling the effects of the layoffs, and rural people are suffering.

One example is the town of Salmon, Idaho. Salmon is located next to the Salmon-Challis National Forest and is a popular recreation spot. In the town of Salmon, 25 federal lands employees have been laid off. In a town of 3,000 people, this is a devastating economic blow.

One of the hardest hit federal agencies is the Forest Service. Employees within the Forest Service who engage in work related to climate change have been laid off. Many of these employees have not completed their probationary period and can be fired at any time. However, there is considerable debate over how many Forest Service employees have been let go. The Trump Administration asserts that only 2,000 Forest Service employees have been affected by the layoffs, but many believe that number to be much higher.

The effects of Forest Service and BLM layoffs go far beyond the economic impact on rural communities. The Forest Service manages 193 million acres of land, while the BLM manages 245 million acres of land. Much of this land is prone to catastrophic wildfire events if not properly managed.

While the Trump Administration's layoffs exempt firefighting personnel, many of the people who lost their jobs engaged in “trail maintenance, fuels reduction and other forestry projects.” These other projects helped reduce wildfire risk, and, as mentioned above, employed thousands of people in rural communities, many of whom were seasonal workers.

Many have already expressed concerns about how these layoffs will affect the upcoming wildfire season. Nevada State Forester and Firewarden Kacey KC stated that she is concerned with “staffing emergency management teams with dispatchers, technicians, and GIS workers, none of whom would likely qualify for the exemption for direct firefighters but are still a vital part of wildfire prevention and mitigation.” When wildfire season inevitably rolls around, firefighting crews may not have the necessary resources to do their job.

Wildfires are incredibly destructive and often decimate rural communities. With crews being understaffed, the task of fighting wildfires, already a difficult task, will become even more difficult. This presents the risk of increased property loss and even an increased risk for the loss of human life.

Given all concerns with the layoffs of Forest Service and BLM employees, many people, especially those in rural communities, have voiced their concerns to elected officials. One example of this is a recent town hall meeting in Oregon where House Representative Cliff Bentz met with nearly 400 of his Eastern Oregon constituents.

During this town hall meeting, many people were angry and protested Bentz’s support of the Trump Administration. Many people expressed the same concerns raised above, including the economic impacts on rural communities that depend on federal employment opportunities and the fear that wildland firefighting crews will be critically understaffed. Bentz eventually became so frustrated with the crowd that he asked, “If you just came here to yell, I can leave — do you want me to do that?”

This exchange between Rep. Bentz and his constituents shows how divisive this topic is. Rural people's livelihoods have been affected by the Trump administration's decision to lay off thousands of government employees. People are frustrated and upset due to the potential for increased economic hardship and wildfire risk in rural areas.

Currently, the Trump Administration has no intentions of reversing the layoffs of thousands of federal government employees. While the true effects of these layoffs are not yet known, states are likely not able to fill the gap left behind by the federal government. People in rural areas will continue to suffer economic hardship as federal jobs disappear and the risk of catastrophic wildfire events continues to grow.