US Forest Service puts seasonal hiring on hold, affecting hundreds of temporary Northwest jobs

By Courtney Sherwood
Oregon Public Broadcasting
September 19, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

In a typical year, the agency hires more than 1,000 summer workers for temporary roles in Oregon and Washington’s federal forests The U.S. Forest Service says it won’t be hiring temporary seasonal workers next summer, citing a tight budget for the coming year. The agency will still hire seasonal staff to fight fires, but temporary summer hires for all other roles — like building trails, conducting archaeological surveys and doing engineering work – are on hold. The Forest Service has also rescinded some job offers it’s made, and is limiting decisions around other permanent staff positions, senior leaders told workers in a briefing this week. The agency hires seasonal workers to staff 11 national forests in Oregon and five in Washington. It usually hires thousands of additional summer workers in other forests across the country. Leaving those roles unfilled is a move the public could notice when warm weather returns.

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