Pitkin County’s U.S. Forest Service funding ‘just isn’t going to cut it’

Pitkin County is hiring two backcountry community response officers to support the U.S. Forest Service after staff shortages due to President Donald Trump’s mass firings left a lack of enforcement in the White River National Forest.

The White River National Forest currently has only one enforcement officer for the entire forest. Head of the Aspen/Sopris Ranger District Kevin Warner also confirmed there’s only $170,000 of allocated money to manage all the recreation on 2.3 million acres of the White River National Forest, the most visited national forest in the nation.

“We’re going to be focusing on the areas where we see the most use, trying to do everything we can to provide the best public service we can to the most people,” Warner said. 

Pitkin County Manager Jon Peacock on Tuesday told county commissioners that staffing shortages have created gaps in all areas of summer recreation in Aspen, including public safety, resource protection, and visitor experience.

“The speed at which cuts have occurred have left a lot of us wondering how this summer’s going to go,” said Peacock. 

The Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office will oversee both positions, providing what Undersheriff Alex Burchetta calls “a limited scope of enforcement” during a 40-hour work week. Pay is listed as a minimum of about $28 per hour. 

The community officers will strategically patrol what the USFS has already identified as problem areas that need to be targeted, like Lincoln Creek during the weekends. Burchetta listed responsibilities that include enforcing animal and criminal codes, patrolling the backcountry, monitoring campfires and wildfires, and educating the public, among other public safety initiatives. Officers might be armed. 

“​​We’ll give them all the skills and experience they need to be successful in the backcountry,” said Burchetta. “We feel there would be a missing piece this summer (without them).”

Burchetta also confirmed that a large number of search-and-rescue missions comes from direct contact between people within the backcountry, especially when technology isn’t dependable. Officers will be clearly visible in full uniforms and marked cars.

But even with these efforts, both the Sheriff’s Office and Pitkin County Commission are skeptical it will be enough.

“It’s possible adding two people just isn’t going to cut it,” said Commissioner Greg Poschman.

Commissioner Patti Clapper agreed. 

“The long-term needs to go back to the federal government,” Clapper said. “It’s really up to the feds to come back to this and play ball.”

While Burchetta is committed to continuing the conversation about how to maximize the officers’ impact, including partnering with other agencies like Aspen Ambulance District and the Aspen Fire Protection District, he emphasized that the two officers can’t realistically carry the brunt of USFS responsibilities.

“It is a tremendously vast area to patrol,” Burchetta said. “Two additional people are not going to come close to touching it.”

To learn more about the positions or to apply, visit https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/pitkin/jobs/4928824/backcountry-community-response-officer.