The U.S. Forest Service fired thousands of workers in the past week, including firefighters, biologists, and disaster recovery experts. Many were directly involved in western North Carolina recovery efforts after Helene.
Early this week, U.S. Forest Service’s Jenifer Bunty received her notice via email. She read WFAE an excerpt from the message:
“The agency finds based on your performance that you have not demonstrated your further employment with the agency would be in the public interest. For this reason, the agency informs you that the agency is removing you from your position with the agency and the federal civil service effective immediately.”
Many probationary workers who were fired received the same message. Bunty had never received any reprimands for her work.
Former U.S. Forest Service biologist Mike Knoerr quoted the same message in a social media post last Friday. Knoerr said he lost his “dream job” despite “stellar performance reviews” and no disciplinary action.
“For the last several months, Helene's recovery is all I’ve worked on — from I-40 reconstruction to evaluating how rare critters responded to the floods and landslides,” Knoerr wrote. “Much of my work in the coming years would have been focused on making our floodplains more resilient, addressing fuel risks, and working to keep rare species on the landscape.”
The layoffs come as a major blow to an agency that was already “underfunded and understaffed,” according to National Wildlife Refuge Association CEO Desirée Sorenson-Groves.
“Without them, habitats will degrade, endangered species will go unmonitored, trails will remain unmaintained, and visitors will lose access to environmental education and recreation opportunities,” Sorenson-Groves said in a written statement on the nonprofit’s website.
At the time of her firing, Bunty was working on distributing disaster aid funds to projects in western North Carolina. That includes rebuilding roads and bridges that connect to homes.
“That’s the piece that sits in my gut right now,” Bunty said. “These people have been through hell in western North Carolina, and they just keep waiting for help to come.”
Not all federal workers remained unemployed for long — Some were immediately rehired. When asked about the firings and rehirings, Trump said that he was “not at all” concerned about security issues.
“I think we have to just do what we have to do,” Trump said. “They're paying millions of people that shouldn't be paid.”
Bloomberg Law reported that the U.S. Forest Service has fired more than 3,000 workers in the past week, but the Forest Service wasn’t alone in laying off thousands of workers. The Department of Veterans Affairs, Education Department, Energy Department, and others have made deep cuts.
“A lot of us are really unclear where our benefits lie,” Bunty said. “I can’t access any information about my benefits. My whole family, my children are on my medical benefits, so … just trying to figure that all out.”
The agency’s union posted instructions for requesting records, including workers’ personnel folder.
