Following mass firings of employees in the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service, volunteer stewards and educators are asking: Can responsible recreation in fragile natural areas happen without them?
It’s a question Bob Schneider is mulling. Since he retired and moved to Bellingham in 2007, Schneider and a cadre of other trained volunteers have worked to pass on a wilderness ethic to visitors in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
Three programs — the Skagit Eagle Watchers, the Mount Baker Mountain Stewards, and Ranger Guided Snowshoe Walks at Heather Meadows, all coordinated by the Forest Service and assisted by volunteers — appear to be doomed because of the elimination of many employees in the agency.
The Mountain Stewards program was launched in 2002 and once encompassed much more of the Mount Baker Ranger District, with dozens of volunteers fanning out across the trails and parking lots on the flanks of the North Cascades’ most prominent volcano to ensure safe and responsible recreation.
Over the past decade, Forest Service staffing has steadily declined, and with fewer employees to coordinate volunteers, the Mountain Steward program is now focused on the heavily traveled Artist Point area, which sees more than 650 vehicles every day once State Route 542 is cleared of snow all the way to its terminus. Around 40,000 people visit the USFS Glacier Public Service Center throughout the year to get information and permits before heading out for adventures on public land.
Schneider estimated he’d speak with up to 400 visitors on busy days at Artist Point, picking out mountain goats on the hillsides to show them in his spotting scope, asking picnickers to stay off the fragile heather, advising families with small kids on the easiest hikes and checking to see if backpackers had reservations for the limited campsites around the Chain Lakes Loop.
Stationed in the parking lot or walking the trails, Schneider witnessed the crush of humanity as the stunning, accessible backcountry area became more and more popular, with inadequate USFS staffing to enforce regulations or leave no trace principles.
“I want to do everything possible to make it an enjoyable experience for people,” Schneider said. “The topography, the scenery, the mountain goats, the flowers — I love all of it. But with human beings come inevitable conflicts.”
He said he believes USFS leadership has been “guilty of negligence,” in allowing unbridled crowds to overtake scenic wilderness. Since the 1990s, the Forest Service has lost about 8,000 jobs nationally, including many trail crew and forestry technician positions, even as outdoor recreation has skyrocketed in the wake of COVID-19.
In September 2024, Forest Service Chief Randy Moore announced the agency wouldn’t hire any temporary seasonal workers except in fire response for the 2025 fiscal year, in an attempt to address its $700 million deficit.
Then, from Feb. 11 to Feb. 15, thousands of probationary employees in the USFS and other federal agencies were fired en masse by the Trump administration, including 36 employees with the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, according to the Forest Service union.
[ Read more: Employees say Forest Service cuts will hurt trails, threaten public safety ]
Schneider isn’t optimistic about the coming summer. With no Mountain Stewards stationed in the parking lot and possibly no rule enforcement or toilet maintenance happening, “it’d be a free-for all,” he said. “There are no controls.”
When asked what visitors to public lands could expect this summer, a USFS spokesperson wrote in an email on Feb. 25:
“The Forest Service remains committed to ensuring public health and safety while balancing access to recreation areas. Recreation services and public access are vital to local economies. It is our intent to maintain access to recreation opportunities to the greatest degree possible.”
Recreation.gov, the website that allows visitors to reserve campsites and other amenities in parks and forests managed by the federal government, appeared to be functioning normally as of Feb. 25.
Beloved educational programs may not return
Steven Payne, who also volunteers in all three local USFS programs, learned of their demise on Valentine’s Day. The Forest Service employee at the Darrington Ranger District who organized the Skagit Eagle Watchers wrote an email to the 23 volunteers on Feb. 14 that she was being let go.
The educational program had just ended for the season; it runs on weekends in December and January, when the banks of the Skagit River are teeming with bald eagles who have migrated south from Alaska and Canada to enjoy the abundant salmon runs in Northwest Washington. Since 1992, the Eagle Watcher volunteers have set up stations at points along the river to help visitors view the eagles and learn about the watershed.
“People really appreciate us being there,” said Payne, who has been a volunteer since 2017.
Then, only days later, Payne learned about the cancellation of the Ranger Guided Snowshoe Walks at Heather Meadows, during which volunteers and a ranger share their knowledge about winter ecology, recreation and the cultural history of the North Fork Nooksack drainage. The first walk was supposed to have happened on Feb. 23, but with almost every employee in the Glacier Public Service Center removed from their positions, the remaining ranger didn’t have the resources to organize the outing.
People still employed with the Forest Service locally did not respond to requests for comment.
“All these public agencies depend on seasonal employees, students, young people who are interested in working outdoors and have a passion for wildlife and natural areas,” Payne said. “If you let go of all the probationary and temporary staff, it’ll have big impacts this coming year. It’ll be the public who loses out.”
Julia Tellman writes about civic issues and anything else that happens to cross her desk; contact her at juliatellman@cascadiadaily.com.
