Trump draws thousands of parks, forest service workers: “ It’s like getting the carpet out of me ”

Bellingham, Washington – For Chelsea Kollmar, it was a dream work – a dream that came to a nightmare with an email on Friday.

“It’s like getting the carpet out of me,” she said downhill. “All the people I work with are like a family. I’m just imagining that I don’t work with them anymore … it hurts.”

It was to be Kollmar’s ninth summer to work for the US Forest Service, which she hoped to transform into a full -time career.

The email announcing that it had been dismissed said: “The agency finds, according to your performance, that you have not demonstrated that your new job at the agency would be in the public interest.”

“It’s garbage,” said Kollmar categorically. “We all work very hard. It’s a lot of work.”

Kollmar joined a group of several hundred demonstrators in downtown Bellingham on Monday, protesting against the presidency of Trump and the actions that his administration took on behalf of “the effectiveness of the government”.

About 4,400 US Park and Forest Service workers will soon be jobs.

These are people who do things like keeping trails, guide visitors and clean the bathrooms.

“There will be no one to take a pumping truck to do glamorous work to pump toilets of 1,000 gallons,” said Adrienne Hall, a retired forest service worker.

“The forest will not be protected,” added Kollmar. “It will not be the safe, calm and clean place that everyone wants it to be.”

In the North Cascades National Park in Washington, visitors pumped more than $ 26 million in the local economy in 2023.

This leads some to assume that the president does not see the forest for trees in his attempt to save money.

Nationally, US national parks reported a record of $ 55.6 billion to the US economy in 2023, supporting more than 415,000 jobs.

“There are 500,000 visitors per year on the trails we manage,” said Matt Ross, a worker of the licensed forest service. “All these people spend money in our communities.”

Although firefighters will not be affected by the job cuts, those who will help them will be.

These are people who reduce dangerous trees, clear trails and provide support.

“It is not only a question of fighting fires,” said the retirement worker for the forest service Susan Sherman-Biery. “It is a question of bringing the resources to these people to support them for fires.”

The impacts of the cuts are already felt by the public.

A panel displayed at the start of the Denny Creek / Franklin Falls path, near Snoqualmie Pass, now alerts hikers that the trails are closed “due to the large -scale end of forest service employees”.

“People who want to go hiking, there is a good chance that they cannot be able to do their favorite hike,” said Hall.

“I do not understand why it is so difficult to be nice to people and take care of others,” added Kollmar.