Hiring Freeze for Seasonal Workers on National Forests Raises Concerns for Outdoor Recreation
Image: Gabriel Tiller, Mt Hood National Forest
National Forests receive around 168 million visits each year, and are home to some of the best recreation experiences in the country, from backcountry skiing to spectacular campgrounds to mountain bike trails, long-distance hiking opportunities, paddling, and climbing.
Recently, the Forest Service announced it would not be hiring seasonal workers outside of wildland firefighters in 2025 because of a budget shortfall. This decision—and to an even greater extent, the funding environment that led to it—will affect the long-term health and well-being of National Forests, as well as recreation and visitation over the next year.
The seasonal workforce at the Forest Service does critical work to care for our National Forests, from visitor services to trail maintenance to ecology to forestry work to botany. Seasonal workers are particularly important for recreation—staffing campgrounds, managing trash and restrooms at trailheads, processing permits, serving as backcountry rangers, and providing other critical visitor services.
How Did We Get Here?
A confluence of factors has led to this year’s budget shortfall at the Forest Service. Over the last fifteen years, outdoor recreation visits have steadily increased on public lands, but real funding for outdoor recreation has decreased. While Congress has provided additional funds through the Great American Outdoors Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act, regular appropriations to retain staff and programs have not increased, and because these additional funding sources come with expiration dates, they create challenges around paying for the staff needed to actually perform the work envisioned. Even worse, this year, the House’s budget for the Forest Service gives the agency half a billion dollars less than they requested; although those draconian funding levels are unlikely to be the actual final numbers on any spending deal, agencies like the Forest Service have to prepare for that possibility. The current appropriations process that repeatedly provides funding through continuing resolutions (CRs) rather than normal appropriations has made it even more difficult for agencies to plan their budgets, even over the relatively near term.
Inflation has also strained agency budgets, especially through increased salaries and a lack of attrition at the Forest Service. Over the last two years, the administration has increased federal workers’ salaries about 10%, but Congress has not funded those increases by providing more appropriations for agencies. This leaves federal agencies on the hook to deliver the salary increases through their current (or declining budgets). Increased costs for maintenance on leases, facilities, and vehicles have also added up. Like many American households, land management agencies are facing a world where cars, rent, facilities, and salaries are more expensive than they once were, but their budget has not increased significantly.
Regardless of how we arrived at the budget shortfall, the lack of seasonal workers will have a significant impact on outdoor recreation and on the long-term health of our forests.
Staffing shortages already make it difficult for member organizations like The Mountaineers to obtain permits or for trail running race directors to secure race permits, and it’s hard to imagine sending overburdened permanent staff at the Forest Service to clean up campgrounds during the summer. Outdoor recreation, conservation, maintenance, and research are likely to take a big hit this summer, adding challenges to National Forests that are already facing increased stress from the effects of climate change and wildfire.
How Outdoor Alliance is Taking Action
Over the last few weeks, Outdoor Alliance and some of our coalition partners have met with Forest Service leadership, the Office of Management and Budget (the agency that oversees the federal budget and coordinates across agencies), regional leadership at the Forest Service, and lawmakers to explore solutions, both to the challenges posed by the hiring freeze and broader issues of agency funding.
The agency will continue to employ temporary positions for wildland firefighting. The Forest Service has also committed to keeping recreation areas open, even if it means relocating permanent workers to do some of the work that the seasonal workforce usually fulfills. Maintaining public lands and waters is central to ensuring good outdoor experiences, and Outdoor Alliance will continue to work with the agencies, lawmakers, and our partners to address the funding gap.
What You Can Do to Help
Outdoor Alliance is continuing to advocate for outdoor recreation priorities as Congress finalizes appropriations. The Senate budget offers more robust funding for land management agencies like the Forest Service. Along with advocating for robust funding, we have called on Congress to increase the Forest Service’s recreation budget to $70 million along with a commensurate increase for salaries. Ensuring that Congress passes FY25 appropriations before the end of the year at Senate funding levels rather than continuing to kick the can down the road with continuing resolutions is an essential and sensible first step to stabilizing the budget situation at the Forest Service.
Outdoor enthusiasts have a key role to play in sharing their concerns with lawmakers. We have made it easy to write a quick letter to your lawmakers advocating for better funding for the Forest Service to ensure an ongoing seasonal workforce that fulfills outdoor recreation needs: