March 13, 2025

Helen Dhue, a park guide at Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site in South Texas, was returning to Brownsville from a work training. Her plane had just landed on the tarmac. 

In East Texas, Hank Ingham was marking timber in the Sam Houston National Forest as part of a Forest Service timber strike team.

Bianca Sicich, refuge biologist at Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge west of Houston, was in Arizona helping an understaffed refuge when her supervisor called her in tears. 

Each received devastating news: They were among more than 5,000 federal probationary employees who were laid off from public land agencies in February.

More than 5,000 federal probationary employees were laid off from public land agencies in February.

The Elon Musk-headed Department of Government Efficiency ordered the Office of Personnel Management to reduce the federal workforce.

Agencies including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lost staff. While some positions have been restored, many employees — including maintenance, fee collection, wildlife management and emergency services staff — are out of work.

The firing spree, along with a hiring freeze on permanent employees, will leave popular Texas public lands short-staffed or shuttered during peak Spring Break season and impact staff, visitors and local communities.

LAY OF THE LAND

Although Texas was less affected than other regions, several of the state’s 17 park units and 20 wildlife refuges lost employees. 

In the park service, unofficial counts include staff at Palo Alto, Big Bend National Park and Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park, according to the nonprofit Association of National Park Rangers.  

The true toll is higher: In January, the administration urged employees to accept a “deferred resignation” and receive pay through September or stay on without job security. 

Nationwide, about 700 employees left the park service. In Texas, the number is unknown, said Cary Dupuy, Texas regional director for the National Park Conservation Association.

The firing spree, along with a hiring freeze on permanent employees, will leave popular Texas public lands short-staffed or shuttered during peak Spring Break season and impact staff, visitors and local communities.

Advocates expect longer lines, slower emergency response times and shuttered visitor centers at public lands statewide. With fewer personnel, staff are stretched thin, leaving essential research and equipment maintenance tasks incomplete.

Many sites are already feeling the consequences.

“Parks are having to make really tough decisions right now,” said Dupuy. “How do they continue operating the park and provide visitor services?... Who do they have to clean [the public] toilet? How do they provide those very basic necessities?”

The ongoing hiring freeze also impacts Texas public lands. 

In July 2024, community members celebrated Blackwell School National Historic Site in Marfa, Texas as the newest national park. Marfa’s Mexican American children attended the segregated school until 1965. 

The park welcomed visitors from across the country and was working to hire a site manager so public hours could be extended, said Dupuy. 

Since the freeze began on Jan. 20, Blackwell and other park sites must place progress on hold.

GROWING DEMAND, SHRINKING WORKFORCE

Even before recent cuts, public lands were already short-staffed, advocates said.

Nationwide, the refuge system welcomes 67 million visitors annually and manages 855 million acres. But prior to recent firings, not one refuge was fully staffed, reported the National Wildlife Refuge Association. 

In the national parks, staffing declined 20 percent since 2010 while visitation rose 16 percent over the same period. 2024 set a record for park visitation.

Already, the administration has reversed firings when the employee vacancies hurt other goals. 

Hank Ingham Facebook post on USFS firing (used with permission). Read full post.

In March, Ingham received another email offering immediate reinstatement. His work was deemed “mission critical” — likely due to a March 1 executive order expanding timber harvest. 

But the firings are not over. Federal employees anticipate large-scale reductions in force starting March 13. 

If trends continue, more services will be cut. 

“It wouldn’t surprise me if some refuges just end up being closed to the public,” said Richard Schauffhausen, a board member for Friends of Brazoria Wildlife Refuges. 

The nonprofit supports three refuges in the Houston metro. 

LABOR OF LOVE

For employees, working on public lands was more than a job. Firings have uprooted lives, families and careers. 

Sicich worked seasonal wildlife jobs for seven years before starting her first permanent position at Attwater in May, where she led projects to remove invasive plant species and restore the refuge’s coastal prairie. She also took on the duties of the site’s unfilled wildlife biologist role, bringing and acclimating captive-bred Attwater’s prairie chickens to the site for release. 

A dancing male Attwater’s prairie chicken, one of only 180 wild birds. Photo Mandy Bellamy | USFWS.

The refuge is one of two sites where the endangered birds remain in the wild.

Even in the sweltering Texas summer, “It never really felt like work, because it is something I'm passionate about,” said Sicich.

At Palo Alto, Dhue staffed the visitor center and led battlefield tours, school field trips and community outreach events. Without her, “I definitely foresee more visitor center closures,” she said. 

On Feb. 14, NPS and USFWS employees received the OPM notice terminating their positions. "The Department determined that you have failed to demonstrate fitness or qualifications for continued employment,” the email read.  

The email disregarded strong credentials and positive performance reviews. 

“It was degrading,” said Dhue. “I've never talked to whoever sent me this letter in my life. They have no idea what my work ethic is like.” 

Federal employees are considered probationary for their first 1-2 years in a permanent position, including experienced staff who switched sectors or were recently promoted. 

Now, they are calling insurance providers, terminating leases and looking for work. 

Despite challenges, many former employees remain committed to service.

Sicich woke up at 5:30 a.m. to volunteer her time training the refuge’s new wildlife biologist, who arrived just before the probationary firings. 

“There [are] things that can't get done without me there and without my knowledge,” said Sicich. “That's been a huge challenge, is trying to figure out how those projects are going to move forward.”

Dhue, who was working toward her wildfire fighting certification, will return to her hometown in Virginia and seek employment with the local fire department. 

“I like working with people, and I like helping people. So that's what I'm going to try to do,” she said.

WHY PUBLIC LANDS MATTER

Canoeists and kayakers paddle between bald cypress and tupelo trees on a ranger-led sunset trip at Big Thicket National Preserve. Photo by Scott Sharaga | NPS.

In Texas, about 95 percent of land is privately owned. Public lands offer unique opportunities to explore the state’s nature and history, from touring the San Antonio Missions to kayaking under cypress trees in Big Thicket National Preserve, said Dupuy.

But public lands also provide benefits for residents who never visit them.

In 2023, Texas national park sites received 5.3 million visitors. They spent an estimated $323 million in “gateway communities,” supporting 4,460 local jobs and adding $272 million to the state’s economy, according to NPS. 

Public lands also provide sanctuary for thousands of imperiled species. If Attwater’s prairie is not actively maintained, the iconic prairie chicken — and other species that depend on the rare ecosystem —will not survive, said Sicich.

Other benefits from public lands are more intangible.

Public lands provide sanctuary for thousands of imperiled species.

For Sara Turbyfill, a photographer and graphic designer based in Magnolia, Texas refuges provide diverse and often free experiences to photograph wildlife and birdwatch year-round. 

“It's a great place to go and just have a good time in nature,” she said. 

Turbyfill was shocked and saddened to hear about the federal firings. 

“The people that work there just absolutely love what they do, and they're very helpful,” she said. “Their jobs are extremely important.”

Sicich and Dhue said their sites prioritized working with community members. 

“Your park ranger cares about you. Your EMTs, your firefighters, your librarians, they care about you… Billionaires, they're not looking out for your best interests,” said Dhue. “I just really hope that people connect with their local communities right now.”

Big Bend gateway community protests firings (used with permission from Big Bend Sentinel. Watch video.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Contact your federal and state legislators to share your support for public lands.

Pack your patience. Dupuy urged the public to come prepared for longer lines, pack out trash and realize their experience at public lands may differ from past visits. 

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