Concerns grow in Colorado’s mountain towns as U.S. Forest Service freezes hiring for swath of seasonal employees

The U.S. Forest Service has issued a nationwide hiring freeze on all non-fire seasonal employees, a decision that could have ripple effects across Colorado mountain communities, where vast swathes of land are national forests.

One-fifth of Colorado is comprised of U.S. Forest Service-owned lands. In places like Summit County, where the White River National Forest makes up 85% of the county, the federal government manages the majority of local lands.

Traditionally, seasonal Forest Service crews have provided on-the-ground work in many of these communities, from maintaining trails to patrolling campgrounds, educating visitors and conducting field work.

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During a Breckenridge Town Council meeting in October, council member Jay Beckerman described the impact of the Forest Service’s hiring freeze this way — “We’re going to be leaning on our staff, we’re going to be leaning on volunteer organizations to do some of the work that was previously done by seasonal summer staff for the Forest Service.”

Many Western Slope governments say these seasonal Forest Service staff are critical, and some communities have already been dedicating local funds to support the federal agency’s seasonal hiring for years. But now, community leaders are unsure whether the Forest Service plans to hire even those seasonal positions propped up by local dollars.

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In Summit County, voters passed Ballot Measure 1A, known as the Strong Futures Initiative, in 2018, increasing the local mill levy to raise money for early childhood education, behavioral health, public infrastructure, recycling and wildfire mitigation.

In 2023, almost $750,000 in taxpayer funds raised through the Strong Futures Initiative went toward the U.S. Forest Service seasonal wildfire mitigation and education program in Summit County, much of that money going directly to the federal agency to hire seasonal staff.

Summit County commissioner Tamara Pogue noted that the local Dillon Ranger District is the busiest ranger district in the busiest national forest in the country. Those Strong Future funds have gone toward supporting between 12 and 18 seasonal Forest Service employees annually, according to the county government. Pogue said it is her understanding that those local funds pay the entire salaries for at least some of those seasonal positions.

“The voters of Summit County passed (the Strong Futures Initiative) because the White River National Forest was so understaffed that these critical functions weren’t getting done,” Pogue said. “We’ve literally been paying for them because the federal government isn’t doing its job.”

U.S. Forest Service hiring freeze

U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore announced in September that the federal agency wouldn’t be hiring any seasonal workers, other than seasonal firefighting positions, in fiscal year 2025.

Moore explained in a call with Forest Service employees that the hiring decision was made as the federal agency plans for the “most conservative funding possibility.” He said that the Forest Service recently converted between 1,300 and 1,400 seasonal positions into permanent seasonal roles, but acknowledged that the hiring freeze means the federal agency will not be able to do the same amount of work it has in years past.

“We just can’t get the same amount of work done with fewer employees,” Moore said. “So, in other words, we’re going to do what we can with what we have. We’re not going to try to do everything that is expected of us with less people.”

The Forest Service is currently using the House Interior Subcommittee funding levels proposed for Fiscal Year 2025 to guide its hiring decisions. A spending bill that recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives gave the federal agency about a half billion dollars less than it requested.

Meanwhile, the federal agency has exhausted the supplemental funding it received through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Moore said. The increasing cost of living has also contributed to the budget crunch, he said.

The U.S. Forest Service’s Washington, D.C., Office confirmed in an emailed statement that the hiring freeze is in effect in the Rocky Mountain Region, which encompasses Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and most of Wyoming and South Dakota.

The statement said, “We understand that this will have an impact that will reverberate across all national forests.”

Local funds at stake

U.S. Forest Service regional press officer Donna Nemeth said in an email that the Dillon Ranger District in 2024 hired 44 seasonal employees.

As far as the Strong Futures Initiative, Nemeth said that two positions supported by that local fund will be hired next summer because they are considered “fire series” employees. But the remaining positions supported by those local dollars are “recreation technicians” who focus on fire prevention and education, and currently won’t be hired next summer, she said.

“The Dillon Ranger District is grateful for our invaluable partners, like Summit County government, and we are exploring ways to continue meeting our commitments to the community,” Nemeth said. “In the immediate term, we are focused on ensuring that we can pay for our existing employees.”

Pogue said the Summit County government remains hopeful that the Forest Service will provide an exemption for those seasonal employees funded by local taxpayers. She noted that the federal agency provided an exemption to the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, but that it is uncertain whether such grace will be extended to others.

“Locally, we have an incredible relationship with our field staff that live in our community,” Pogue said. “But there does seem to be a disconnect with Washington understanding how critical this work is to our community.”

Summit County Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons said that his department works closely with seasonal Forest Service employees that patrol campgrounds and other National Forest lands. FitzSimons said that Summit County has “already suffered” since the Forest Service has not consistently staffed a federal law enforcement officer locally.

“It puts a further burden on us if we don’t have our federal seasonal partners in place,” FitzSimons said. “We also don’t have the staffing.”

The seasonal staff being impacted by the hiring freeze are critical to the county’s fire prevention strategy, FitzSimons said. Those seasonal employees spend their summers patrolling National Forest lands, dismantling unsanctioned campsites and putting out unattended campfires that could spark a wildfire, he said.

Pogue said that the goal of the Strong Futures Initiative funds dedicated to supporting Forest Service seasonal employees was to help mitigate the risk of wildfires. She said that if Summit County funds the positions, there should be no budget impact for the Forest Service.

“While I very much appreciate their commitment to actually fighting fires, we also want to be partners on prevention,” Pogue said. “When a fire starts, it’s too late. When Summit County taxpayers are providing the funds to hire these folks, why shouldn’t we be allowed to continue to do so?”

Summit County is not alone in helping to fund U.S. Forest Service seasonal staff. In Eagle County, the county government as well as the town of Vail and other local entities provide funds to the Forest Service for a Front Country Ranger Program that provides visitor services.

Eagle County director of open space and natural resources Marcia Gilles, who manages the Front Country Ranger Program for the county, said that the Forest Service has asked the county to “consider flexibility in our agreement to fund permanent salaries.” Gilles said the county told the Forest Service that it was not willing to pay for permanent salaries but would explore other options for the program.

Meanwhile, in Pitkin County, the county government, the town of Aspen and a local nonprofit collectively contribute $125,000 annually toward two full-time permanent seasonal positions and one summer seasonal position. Pitkin County communications manager Alycin Bektesh said the county government has encouraged the Forest Service to maintain the partnership in 2025 and “is hopeful the agreement will continue.”