The U.S. Forest Service has suspended the hiring of all seasonal employees with the exception of firefighters for the 2025 fiscal year due to anticipated budget shortfalls.
Letters sent to regional leadership teams were leaked via social media site Reddit, prompting Forest Service Chief Randy Moore to confirm, “We will not be bringing on any additional seasonal [employees], outside of fire.”
The letter sent by Jacqueline Buchanan, regional forester over the Pacific Northwest Region, states, “We are likely confronting a very budget-limited environment in FY 2025…. We are also navigating the exhaustion of the supplemental funding we received through both the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”
In addition to halting new temp worker hires, the memo announces that “existing tours” of “permanent seasonal employees” will not be extended.
