A Pitkin County Commissioner joins Mountain Pact to denounce Trump’s staff reductions with public land agencies

The Mountain Pact is denouncing the Trump administration’s sweeping staff reductions across federal public land agencies, warning that the cuts could have severe consequences for national parks, monuments, and other protected areas. 

The organization, which works with over 100 mountain communities across the West, is particularly concerned about the impact on rural economies that depend on public lands.

In Pitkin County, Commissioner Greg Poschman sharply criticized the firings, calling them “carelessly destructive, unnecessarily arbitrary and vindictive.” He warned that the loss of staff would harm both residents and natural resources, stressing that the Mountain Pact was created to address conservation, land use, and issues affecting resort and mountain communities.

“Myself and some colleagues had just visited Washington D.C. We had concerns over if we are going to have forest rangers managing the Maroon Bells,” Poschman said Monday. “In Washington, they said they have a rule where counties are not allowed to hire forest rangers any longer. We are going to use our youth core to do this stuff.” 

He argued that counties should be able to hire personnel to fill gaps left by federal budget constraints, citing areas of concern such as North Star and the Maroon Bells.

Poschman underscored the critical role public land employees play, warning that the consequences of these staffing cuts extend far beyond lost jobs. 

“The thousands of staff members entrusted with protecting our public lands are valuable members of our communities who carry out functions critical to protecting our nation’s people and our most precious natural resources,” he said. 

He also pointed to the potential economic fallout, emphasizing the risk to Colorado’s multi-billion-dollar tourism industry and the increased dangers from natural disasters due to fewer resource managers.

“The dire consequences of these poorly conceived, entirely unnecessary and cruel actions will be felt across the West and by all Americans,” he added. 

He noted that cuts have already been made to wildland firefighting staff at a time when Colorado’s fire season is virtually year-round due to climate change.

He drew a sharp comparison to the tech industry’s disruptive mentality, criticizing the administration’s approach. 

“(Elon) Musk has not taken into account the actual human impact of moving fast and breaking things. It works great in Silicon Valley, it works great in technology when you’re trying to fix or iterate something to improve the control system of an electric car, that makes sense,” he said. “Dismantling an entire agency that the country relies upon — it’s insane. It’s actually insanity.”

Poschman made it clear that he is not backing down. 

“We condemn this. We are not terrified; we are condemning it, and we are coming after these actions,” he said. “If that means supporting lawsuits, or whatever means we have to get Congress to act, as they should, to control the executive branch, we have to look at other options, but it’s crazy. I cannot be quiet about this. I have to speak up, and I encourage others to do the same.”

Encouraging both citizens and officials to take a stand, he called on those who have stayed silent to reengage. 

“I want to inspire citizens and elected officials who have been keeping their heads down, the pundits who have all but vanished for fear of retribution, to get back in the game,” he said.

The staffing purge is expected to eliminate approximately 3,400 jobs at the U.S. Forest Service and freeze hiring at the National Park Service. Similar cuts are anticipated at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Bureau of Land Management, leaving widespread uncertainty about the future of public land management.

Poschman is not alone in raising alarms. Ridgway Mayor John Clark warned that Trump’s approach to public lands threatens rural economies and the outdoor recreation industry, which contributes $1.2 trillion to the U.S. economy and supports more than 5 million jobs. 

“These indiscriminate cuts to staffing put cherished and irreplaceable landscapes and cultural sites at significant risk,” he said in a prepared statement.

Concerns extend beyond Colorado. Mammoth Lakes Town Council Member John Wentworth criticized the administration for eroding longstanding partnerships between federal agencies and local governments. 

“Small towns and rural counties throughout the nation that depend on public lands for our economies deserve to know—what is this vision being so jealously guarded and recklessly pursued?” he said in a news release.

As Western communities brace for the fallout, the Mountain Pact is urging the administration to reverse course. 

“We urge Secretary Burgum and President Trump to stop playing politics with America’s beloved public lands,” Executive Director Anna Peterson said in the release. “The professional staff who support our public lands are charged with caring for some of our nation’s most precious resources and making sure the millions of Americans who visit them each year can do so safely.”