Impending cuts to Forest Service workforce may gut staff at Red River Gorge, Cave Run in KY
Cuts to the U.S. Forest Service may gut the workforce of the Daniel Boone Forest from north of Cave Run Lake to the Red River Gorge.
Warner Vanderheuel, president of the Forest Service Council, a division of the National Federation of Federal Employees, told Bloomberg the forest service’s union received notification Thursday that 3,400 Forest Service employees would be terminated. That’s roughly 10% of the U.S. Forestry Service workforce of roughly 20,000 employees.
The notification comes after an email was sent Feb. 4 to nine of the 11 employees in the Cumberland District — which handles Cave Run and the Red River Gorge — by the U.S. Office of Personal Management notifying them that they were under probationary status. That status means it’s easier for the government to lay them off without cause.
The Herald-Leader has seen a copy of that email.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesperson confirmed Friday afternoon probationary employees in the U.S. Forest Services were terminated. However, the statement did not address possible cuts in Kentucky.
“We have a solemn responsibility to be good stewards of Americans’ hard-earned taxpayer dollars and to ensure that every dollar is being spent as effectively as possible to serve the people, not the bureaucracy,” according to the statement. “As part of this effort, USDA has released individuals in their probationary period of employment. We are confident that talented individuals who have been affected by this change will have many opportunities to contribute to our economy and society in countless ways outside of government.”
Politico has reported the forest service cuts would target probationary employees, but that law enforcement and firefighters will not be cut. The nine employees on probationary status are not law enforcement or firefighters, according to the email.
If the nine employees at the Cumberland District who received notice of probationary status are laid off, it may leave only two remaining employees to cover 182,694 acres from north of Morehead to Beattyville.
The probationary employees were hired under a program designed to hire people with disabilities, medical issues or military veterans who are leaving the service.
Trump has pledged to dismantle all similar federal DEI initiatives.
The trimming of the U.S. Forest staff is part of a broader effort to slash the federal workforce.
On Jan. 28, the nation’s estimated 2.3 million federal employees received an email from the Office of Personal Management offering them an eight-month severance package if they resigned. The effort is part of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, which has pledged to slash the federal workforce despite questions about the legality of doing so.
‘An attack on rural America’
The potential layoff of employees who oversee operations including the Red River Gorge’s Gladie Visitor Center, trails, boat ramps and the sewer system at Twin Knobs recreation center at Cave Run Lake is a blow to an already understaffed forest service, said Gerry James, president of the Kentucky Conservation Committee and Explore Kentucky, two groups that aim to conserve and expand outdoor recreation.
James has extensive experience and knowledge of the forest service and employees who work at the Cumberland District office.
“This is an attack on rural America,” James said.
In some areas of the Daniel Boone National Forest, jobs are scarce, he said.
“This is bad for the economy and it’s bad for the environment,” he said.
In addition, the Trump administration has placed a freeze on all new hires. The U.S. Forest Service can’t begin to hire part-time seasonal employees who help at Red River Gorge and Cave Run Lake in the spring and summer, during the area’s busiest times, James and others said.
“Trash isn’t going to get picked up. Toilets will not be pumped out,” James said.
Those services are provided by a private contractor, but someone has to oversee the contract, James said.
Moreover, volunteer efforts to help maintain and keep clean Cave Run, Red River Gorge and other areas within the Cumberland District will also be compromised, because it’s not clear who would oversee those volunteer efforts if there are layoffs, he said.
James is also concerned about logging and mineral rights. The U.S. Forest Service’s primary duty is a timber reserve, and the Daniel Boone National Forest is logged.
It’s not clear what layoffs would mean for logging — and oversight of those logging contracts — James said.
“There are also mineral rights in the Daniel Boone National Forest,” James said.
What becomes of fire suppression after cuts?
The vast majority of the U.S. Forest Service’s budget is spent on fire suppression. And much of that money goes to Western states, prone to wildfires, according to U.S. Forest Service documents. Fire suppression budgets have not been cut, James and others familiar with the proposed cuts in the forest service, said.
“But many of these employees’ secondary duties is fire suppression,” James said.
Others are worried that a poorly staffed Cave Run and Red River Gorge could affect local tourism, which is dependent on both natural areas to bring in visitors.
Joy Brown, executive director of Morehead Rowan County Tourism, said she hadn’t heard about the possible cuts but said she was shocked and deeply concerned.
“This is heartbreaking news to me and this area,” said Brown. “Cave Run Lake is a crucial piece of our tourism puzzle. This region relies heavily on the number of visitors the lake and the surrounding Daniel Boone National Forest attract. During the pandemic, our area thrived simply because of outdoor recreation including hiking, biking, kayaking, fishing and so much more. Rowan County alone has an economic impact of $53.37 million and growing.”
This story was originally published February 14, 2025 at 10:27 AM.
