On March 18, 2025, The Nation published an article detailing the ongoing wave of layoffs titled “The Great Firing,” which is expected to reveal how much authority over public lands the Trump administration plans to transfer to corporations.
Protestors gathered at Yosemite National Park in California on March 1, 2025, to demonstrate against the termination of National Park Service employees by the Trump administration. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), under Elon Musk’s leadership, has been executing a directive that has seen the dismissal of tens of thousands of federal jobs across several agencies, including the US Forest Service and National Park Service, prompting concerns about the federal government relinquishing control over public lands to corporate interests. Although the Department of Government Efficiency was criticized for making indiscriminate cuts to essential staff, it has directed federal agencies to formulate Reduction in Force (RIF) layoff plans by March 13. However, as of March 17, the US Forest Service and other agencies had not finalized their plans. This move is aimed at legalizing the dismissal of federal workers, potentially ceding management control to corporations.
On March 12, following a directive from the Merit Systems Protection Board, the US Department of Agriculture reinstated 6,000 probationary employees who were primarily part of the Forest Service. The actions of DOGE have targeted probationary employees, including recent career civil servants, for dismissal. The initial chaotic firing strategies resulted in the rushed reinstatement of these employees with back pay. The forthcoming RIF layoffs are anticipated to reveal the extent of the Trump administration’s intent to transfer authority over public lands to business interests. Federal employees play a crucial role in maintaining the nation’s public lands, which include over 430 million acres of treasured ecosystems. The removal of these employees hinders vital conservation functions, risking the land’s degradation.
Gregg Bafundo, a former lead wilderness ranger at Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, faced termination last month, interrupting his 11th season in the role. A veteran who became a ranger through a preference program, Bafundo was promoted to lead ranger last year but was still within his probationary period. Despite the challenging conditions of his job, he viewed it as a dream opportunity. As of March 17, Bafundo had yet to be informed about rehiring and anticipated further RIF dismissals. The layoffs risk enabling unsupervised and potentially harmful corporate exploitation on public lands, which might be sold off, denying public access.
Trump’s Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, known for his financial ties to oil industry figures and a history of challenging the department’s environmental decisions, has taken steps to reduce federal land protections. Burgum and Trump have prioritized resource extraction over conservation, sidelining climate change efforts. This shift led to the abrupt termination of thousands of federal positions.
Several dismissed employees, including Gregg Bafundo and conservation advocate Teal Lehto, stress the importance of federal oversight in maintaining public lands. Without adequate staffing, unlawful land exploitation may increase, and privatization of these lands could gain appeal due to public management challenges. Lehto urged public land conservation via her social media efforts, organizing protests against the layoffs. The GOP has long pursued defunding and privatizing public lands, but many hope for a reversal of the layoffs to safeguard these national resources.
The article posits that public land conservation is essential for equitable access to natural spaces and suggests that the country’s natural assets are better managed under public stewardship rather than private control.
