More Resignations and Early Retirements Coming to National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, and Other Interior Agencies
“It’s almost like, you know, [the Trump administration] thinks that invisible elves do it or something. But they don’t. It takes actually a huge administrative staff to accomplish those things. If it doesn’t get done, then the agency begins to break down.” - Adam King, former grant management specialist at the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
Just two days ago, the U.S. Forest Service announced a “sweeping restructuring of the agency” by relocating its headquarters to Salt Lake City, Utah, closing research facilities, and replacing its regional offices by fifteen state-based offices.
And today, the Interior Department announced its own “strategic initiative to improve efficiency [and] boost American energy dominance.”
“Effective stewardship requires disciplined management of the resources entrusted to us,” Secretary of the Interior Doug “Drill Baby” Burgum said in a press release. “By modernizing our operations we’re strengthening our ability to carry out Interior’s mission and deliver world-class service for the American people.”
Of course, per usual, these are just a bunch of fluff words that mask the department’s true intentions. Just ask yourself: when in the past fourteen months has this Interior Department delivered “world-class service for the American people?”
What has it actually done so far to improve visitor facilities, make parks safer, help protect endangered species, conserve more wildlife habitat, or ensure that important watersheds remain unpolluted?
According to Interior, the main highlights of this initiative include aligning more National Park Service positions to visitor‑facing roles, strengthening support for tribal nations and tribal justice, and modernizing key processes such as permitting by eliminating redundant layers.
Let’s focus on that first priority, shall we. In practice, “aligning national park positions to visitor-facing roles” means focusing on visitor center staff, souvenir shop employees, campground hosts, interpretive rangers, and law enforcement officers.
While all those positions are obviously crucial to the safe and comprehensive operation of our national parks, the “aligning” aspect of this announcement is were the real danger lies.
Effectively, this will result in a reduction of support staff that park visitors usually don’t encounter, but who perform equally important, practical work. Think: behind-the-scenes staff like wildlife biologists, hydrologists, ecologists, historians, cultural resource specialists, data analysts, communications staff, IT workers, and administrative officers.
How realistic is this?
Well, unfortunately, this is what’s going to happen to staff in national parks, at wildlife refuges, and on BLM lands. It’s what’s coming for the government employees currently working at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and the U.S. Geological Survey.
“As part of this initiative,” the Interior Department announced in its press release, “we will be offering another Deferred Resignation Program as well as another opportunity for Voluntary Early Retirement.”
“With a focus on outcomes, Interior is dedicated to working hand‑in‑hand with states, tribal nations, territories, local communities, partners, concessioners and industry to ensure responsive service, meaningful benefits and world-class experiences for the American people.”
New partnerships with states. More concessioners. Closer alignment with the wishes and desires of industry.
And should I even mention it? Privatization.
This comes after a year filled with disruption and chaos throughout all agencies under Secretary Burgum’s Interior Department. Last year alone, according to an excellent report from Inside Climate News, Interior lost about 11,000 employees, which is more than 17% of entire workforce. Meanwhile, Burgum’s own office grew by 5,500 staff during a massive reorganization—but 1,800 of those people ended up retiring or quitting, too.
Check out the chart created by Inside Climate News below. It’s pretty shocking to actually see last year’s decimation of the Interior workforce in such a visual way.
Now, as announced today by the Interior Department itself, more staff reductions are on their way.
“Their goal was to make my life a living hell. I left because of this administration,” Adam King, who worked as a grant management specialist at the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, told Inside Climate News. “It’s almost like, you know, [the Trump administration] thinks that invisible elves do it or something. But they don’t. It takes actually a huge administrative staff to accomplish those things. If it doesn’t get done, then the agency begins to break down.”
“They’re sucking the soul out of the agencies and they’re doing it on purpose,” agreed Tim Whitehouse, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
“You’re losing a huge amount of institutional knowledge. People can’t do their jobs,” said Jacob Malcolm, former acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Environmental Management at Interior.
“No staff, no service.”
Thanks for reading!
See you on our public lands and waters,
Bram