Federal layoffs hit national parks and forests in Washington State

Layoffs rippling through the federal government are affecting national parks and forests in Washington state, including at Mount Rainier National Park and popular trails east of Seattle.

Why it matters: The staffing cuts — part of a nationwide reduction of 3,400 Forest Service and 1,000 National Park Service jobs — have caused the closure of the popular Denny Creek trailhead in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Sammamish) told Axios.

The nearby Franklin Falls trailhead is also closed due to staffing issues, per the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust.

While the impacts at national parks are still coming into focus, layoffs nationwide may cause portions of some parks to close, while causing other sites to limit visitor center hours or cut educational programs, Bill Wade, executive director of the Association of National Park Rangers, told Axios.

What's happening: Wade said that park rangers with law enforcement commissions appear to have been exempted from the National Park Service layoffs.

But maintenance workers, people who collect entrance fees and rangers who provide tours and educational services were hit hard, he said.

That's led to reports of longer lines to enter some parks in recent days, Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association, told Axios.

By the numbers: Wade said he'd heard of park service workers being laid off at five locations in Washington state since Friday.

Per anecdotal reports from workers on the ground, six people were let go at Mount Rainier National Park, another half-dozen were laid off at North Cascades National Park and five were terminated at Olympic National Park, Wade said.

San Juan Island National Historic Park and Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area each lost one parks service employee so far, based on the unverified reports collected by the rangers association, Wade said.

Schrier told Axios her office had heard of about 250 forest service workers laid off across Oregon and Washington in recent days.

What they're saying: Among park service employees who kept their jobs, "morale is way down," Wade told Axios.

"There's a lot of uncertainty," Wade said. "The administration is still talking about making more cuts in federal employment, so everyone is kind of on edge."

The forest service cuts appear to affect wildland firefighters as well as workers who thin and help manage forests to limit the spread of wildfires, Michael Kelly, a spokesperson for Washington state's Department of Natural Resources, told Axios.

"Trail maintenance is an issue. Clean bathrooms are an issue," Schrier, who represents Washington's 8th Congressional District, told Axios.

Between the lines: Kelly and Schrier said that although the cuts targeted probationary employees, that category often includes longtime federal employees who had recently been promoted or who had started a new position within the same agency.

What's next: Schrier said she and other lawmakers were working on legislation to try to rein in President Trump's attempts to control federal spending, which she emphasized is supposed to be the domain of Congress.