Many people have suffered due to the recent government shutdown. Now, 2,000 federal public-land employees are facing job loss amid the shutdown as well. Here is what is happening.
Federal Public-Land Employees Face Job Loss Amid Government Shutdown
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OutdoorLife shares the details surrounding this unfortunate circumstance. Department officials announced that "The Department of Interior will likely cut another 2,000 jobs from the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Geological Survey." While this announcement occurred amid the shutdown, an inside source claims that these reductions in forces have been in the works for some time now.
Furthermore, OutdoorLife shares that "A U.S. District Court judge ruled last week that the layoffs could not proceed during the shutdown," but that does not mean people are safe. As soon as the government shutdown ends, many of these people will be facing job loss. Ed Arnett, CEO of The Wildlife Society, spoke to the outlet regarding the matter.
"We're going to lose scientific capacity to inform habitat management projects and to manage harvest and the impacts of human disturbances like energy development," he shared.
Bleak Days Ahead
Not only that, but the CEO admitted that he feared they would lose some of these programs forever. Furthermore, Arnett argues that the scientific research and communications sectors will be hit the hardest. He claimed that "The USGS Great Lakes Science Center, for example, will lose 79% of its staff." Additionally, the Bureau of Land Management will face a significant loss. These expected layoffs will just pile on top of the layoffs that have already been occurring.
With the amount of anticipated job loss due to the government shutdown, there will be a severe impact on public lands. The layoffs will result in the loss of workers, knowledge, and expertise. Many fear what the disastrous results of this will be.
