Federal firing frenzy hits St. Croix National Scenic Riverway

Some local National Park Service staff have been laid off in recent weeks.

By

Greg Seitz

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2 minute read

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There are fewer people working to protect the St. Croix River at the National Park Service than there were a a month ago, after the local staff was affected by layoffs that are slashing the federal workforce across the U.S. government. Specific details are few, but Wild Rivers Conservancy reported this week that some St. Croix National Scenic Riverway staff have been affected. Executive Director Matt Poppleton wrote in an email that the cuts will have real impact on river stewardship.

“On February 14, more than 1,000 National Park Service (NPS) staff lost their jobs, including dedicated team members at the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. These staff are more than a number. They are the welcoming smile at a visitor center, the teacher passing down learnings to younger generations, and the dedicated professionals ensuring safe and equitable exploration for all visitors.”

As of a couple days ago, federal agencies dedicated to protecting and managing natural resources have lost thousands more staff:

  • Department of Interior – 2,300 employees fired, including:
    • National Park Service – 1,000
    • U.S. Geological Survey – 240 employees
  • Environmental Protection Agency – 388 employees fired (Pres. Trump said at a recent cabinet meeting he will reduce it by 11,000 employees, 65 percent of the workforce.)
  • U.S. Forest Service – 3,400 employees fired

“National Parks, including the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, have already been operating with limited staff,” Poppleton wrote. “According to the National Parks Conservation Association, the NPS workforce has declined by 20% since 2010, while park visitation has surged by 16%.”

Wild Rivers Conservancy is urging the public to take a few actions to help the St. Croix River and the National Park Service.

  1. Contact elected officials
  2. Support local businesses
  3. Donate to Wild Rivers Conservancy
  4. Practice Leave No Trace
Sources and more information:

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14 responses to “Federal firing frenzy hits St. Croix National Scenic Riverway”

  1. Susan Avatar
    Susan
    Reply
  2. Dianne Avatar
    Dianne

    When all it would take is very rich people paying some taxes. Or maybe #47 not playing golf costing $5 million a day for his security. This is just a very mean narcissistic man. Nothing more. We will support the St Croix National Park. The Wild River Conservancy. We will support all human rights. We will resist with phone calls and emails and protests. Get active.

    35
    Reply
    1. Mark Hove Avatar
      Mark Hove

      Agreed, get active!

      11
      Reply
  3. Christopher Calverley Avatar
    Christopher Calverley

    I have been boating and fishing on the St. Croix river near Stillwater my entire life (39 years old) even as a baby, and consider it my second home as I enjoy camping on the islands during the summer months. Since I was young, my parents taught me how to care for and treat the river with much respect and to leave it cleaner than you found it. I have met many lifelong friends from camping on the river and cannot express how truly grateful I am to have such a wonderful place to enjoy with those friends and family and always encourage more people to come out and see how beautiful it is. Many people who come out there know me, my folks, and our big diverse group of friends as we spend most summer weekends on our boats, and have for numerous years. I can tell without a doubt that we have single handedly improved the condition of these islands drastically from when I started camping out there until now. We have all adopted the leave no trace policy and abide by that no matter what. The sad thing is the national park service many years ago used to tell people to bury their garbage out there as means to get rid of it. So when kids are playing around digging in the sand there’s times where garbage is being dug up. It’s crazy to think that was a standard practice but you know we just weren’t wise to the fact of how much impact it could have on the environment. So steadily over the years we have brought it to almost pristine condition, very often on a nice Sunday morning taking a walk down what we refer to as “mile island” and take in the beautiful scenery and nature and we will pick up after any others who may not share the same respect that us regulars do. Over the years we have gotten to know some of the park rangers, with ranger Bob being the most notable. Ranger Bob could be described as one of the good ones. He knew how much we did for the river as we did him, which is why we all had a mutual respect for each other. Since ranger Bob has left his post a handful of years back now, seeing the park service has been very minimal to this past year having not seen them once. So while I don’t necessarily condone the actions of firing national park service employees, if it truly is deemed unnecessary to employ that many people then so be it. They haven’t been making a presence very often in the recent years anyways. The St Croix will be taken care of, at least in the stretch we like to use, the same as it has for the last 30+ years, and the same as it will for the next 30 as we pass out traditions and love and respect for the river down to the next generations.

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    1. Rose Avatar
      Rose

      It is absolutely necessary to employ these people at our National Parks, and if you think these firings won’t affect “your” part of the park, you’ve got massive tunnel vision and your view is very myopic. Smh There are MORE visitors and fewer employees, the math doesn’t equate to nice national parks. It means a ruining of our parks!

      1
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      1. Christopher Calverley Avatar
        Christopher Calverley

        I’m sorry if you misunderstood the point I was trying to make. I indeed do understand that it can affect any part of the river not having presence of park rangers or the like patrolling and/or bringing awareness about the importance of preserving the St. Croix National Scenic River Way. The point I was trying to make is that we need to hold ourselves accountable and do what we can as citizens to keep it as pristine as we can. Furthermore, adding to my point was the fact that we have proven with the group of people that we have conglomerated over the years that with hard work and perseverance, we as citizens can and have held ourselves to the highest standard when it comes to keeping this beauty as good or better than years previous. So while I don’t necessarily condone federal employees being fired, the amount of people who also quit should be taken into consideration when looking at numbers of total amount of employee positions now not occupied. They chose to quit on their own, yet numerous people just throw up blinders and are quick to point fingers and lay blame when in reality there is a lot that can be contributed to the employees themselves causing the numbers to diminish as much as any other factor. Lastly in the stretch of river way that I in particular navigate, the presence of federal employees has declined long before the current administration has taken office. Is that true for the whole river way? I couldn’t tell you. What I can tell you is that if there was even half of the amount of people who use the river way, observed and practiced the strategies and preserving qualities with respect and gratitude that myself and my “river family” abides by, there wouldn’t need to be any federal employees needed for that aspect of maintaining the river way as it should be. Of course there are many other factors and jobs that require federal employees and funding such as water ecology studies and erosion studies and how it affects islands and shoreline that would be hard as a citizen to accomplish without having the resources provided. To sum it up each and every one of us needs to hold themselves accountable and needs to do their part to hopefully keep the river functioning and beautiful for generations to come. Pointing fingers and trying to find the scapegoat to take the blame for any issues that aren’t being solved because there’s now all of a sudden a drop in federal employees is not only opposite of what should be happening, it’s just plain and simple lazy and a poor example that is being set that younger generations are noticing and following. Do better.

        Reply
  4. Stephen Bubul Avatar
    Stephen Bubul

    The key data is at the end of this story: NPS employment has declined 20% since 2010, while usage has increased 16%. This unequivocally refutes the notion that there is inherent “bloat” in every aspect of federal government. If one just starts with with the unexamined assumption that “government is too big” and begins cutting, randomly, across the board, the result is not more efficient, better government. It’s irrational, random chaos.
    In the case of NPS (and related entities like USFS, BLM, etc.), these cuts will threaten fragile resources that might never recover. And they stab right into the heart of one component of our American identity and heritage–our national parks, our ethos of being good stewards of the resources our ancestors (native and otherwise) found as we settled this content. Indeed, the term “conservative” is a label once attached to those who valued conserving–one reason support for our national parks system was bi-partisan until the recent political re-alignment.
    A coalition of the cruel and thoughtless now controls our government. For now, that’s our reality. But we are not powerless. And in response to impending dramatic tax cuts, making the wealthy even wealthier, those of us who disagree need to start building alternative institutions. We must build a mass movement that encourages citizens to self-tax: apply all saving they receive from Republican tax cuts to serve the needs of our nation-including our beloved national parks. In a sense, we must build an alternative government to meet our needs when the “actual” government refuses to do so.
    Difficult? Seemingly impractical? Sure. But so was the entire idea of a democratic government in 1776. No time to waste–we must start now.

    10
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  5. Deborah M Rotondo Avatar
    Deborah M Rotondo

    We need our natural resources and to take care of them, it makes no sense to cut these jobs, but we all know why Trump is doing this and it doesn’t surprise me.

    7
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    1. Jeff Avatar
      Jeff

      I think you should tell us why he’s doing it. It’s pretty easy to throw out there “we all know why he’s doing it….” I would ask if the NPS has ever conducted a staffing analysis to determine what staffing level was necessary vs. simply staffing based on the budget granted. Spending needs to controlled and yes, that includes unfortunately jobs…..

      4
      Reply
      1. Jerry Avatar
        Jerry

        Jeff, If these cuts were being made to make the organization more efficient (effective would be a better word), they would have done those studies FIRST. But, if you just want to create more tax breaks for the wealthy without increasing an already burdensome deficit, you simply make wholesale and random cuts without concern about impacting services that have little impact on that same wealthy class.

        Reply
  6. Steve Avatar
    Steve

    The National Park Service has approximately 20,000 staff.(https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/index.htm). 1,000 is only 5% and comes out to 20 people per state. These layoffs targeted probationary workers. I think we’ll be okay. If positions are found to be really needed, then maybe they can be justified and funded in the future.

    3
    Reply
    1. Rose Avatar
      Rose

      Lol The parks have already been operating understaffed. When you have more visitors and even LESS staff, you leave our national parks without care and protection! This will firing of national park employees will ruin our national parks. No ifs, ands or buts… It will destroy the beauty of our national parks and greatly endanger the animals that live in them.

      Reply
  7. Spencer Johnson Avatar
    Spencer Johnson

    jeff, hes doing it to create confusion and gut the services we pay taxes for. are they reducing my taxes? and if so ,When, and what percent. I see no tax cuts for people in my situation, just the extremely rich. Anyway, I value the nationl -parks, state parks rivers etc. and i support government funds that keep them up

    6
    Reply
    1. Gail Goodman Avatar
      Gail Goodman

      Being more efficient can apply to governments, business and us as individuals. But what is being done in the USA has little to do with actual efficiency. It’s stripping away to take over the country in every way possible. Evil everyday distractions. And that is exactly how the devil works. Forty days of destruction so far! The forefathers are turning over on their Graves. The country must take the country back. And also volunteers protect the river!

      Reply

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