By Marne Hayes, EBS COLUMNIST
It is hard to quantify the extent of the damage that recent federal layoffs will have across the country, and here at home in Montana. The latest count is that approximately 5000 people have been terminated from the agencies that manage the 640 million acres of U.S. public lands in the United States (and 30 million here in Montana). These acres—30 million of which are in Montana—encompass lands that are close to our hearts, our communities, and our economy.
They include national parks and national forests like the Custer Gallatin, (which sees roughly 3.5 million visitors annually), wilderness, protected areas on land and water, and scenic rivers. They encompass hiking trails, river access sites, and recreation facilities that collectively attract more than 500 million visitors across the country every year and locally support our vibrant outdoor economy. For example, in 2017 outfitter and guide services brought in more than $95 million to the region.
Here in Montana, the Forest service has eliminated 360 jobs so far, which is just a fraction of the 3400 jobs lost nationally, a cut of roughly 10% of its total workforce. Livelihoods aren’t the only thing being lost. These layoffs mean fewer resources for community health, environmental protections, wildfire safety and river restoration. It threatens clean water projects and efforts in sustainability and ecological health. For the Gallatin River Task Force, these layoffs—handed down on high from Washington—impact the work we do to protect the Gallatin, including decades spent building critical relationships with the Forest Service.
These layoffs and impacts are not arbitrary. They have a direct impact on our river restoration efforts at the core of our work designed to repair existing resource damage and address recurring algae blooms. The middle segment of the Gallatin River, stretching from the Yellowstone National Park Boundary to the confluence with Spanish Creek, has experienced unprecedented algal blooms since the summer of 2018, and the support from and collaboration with the Custer Gallatin National Forest has been paramount to finding solutions and paths to mitigate them.
Without adequate management and infrastructure that comes largely through the Forest Service, increased pressure from recreation and other human factors will go unchecked, causing environmental impacts such as soil erosion, damage to vegetation, increased wildlife disturbances, water pollution, and increased risk of wildland fires. There are further concerns that intersect ecological impacts with social ones; degraded aesthetics, diminished safety, and evidence of human disturbance. We cannot be fooled into thinking the impacts are too high level, and don’t affect the things closest to home.
The bad news doesn’t stop at the termination of these jobs, either, with federal funding grants frozen or discontinued and the Trump administration’s efforts to deconstruct one of our oldest and most effective bedrock environmental laws concurrently at play. Our work along the Gallatin and throughout its tributaries relies on the backstop of critical environmental laws like the National Environmental Protection Act, which is currently at risk of being systematically dismantled. NEPA protects public resources by requiring the federal government to consider the environmental consequences before approving infrastructure and development projects ranging from roads and bridges to oil and gas pipelines to solar farms.
These are the critical pieces that help protect the Gallatin; that support our work and take into account all of the potential impacts of growth, with the goal to protect our water resources. Without these laws in place, there are no promises. NEPA is one of the strongest tools available for communities to engage and give input on major decisions that impact our health and safety. It has shaped environmental policy for more than 50 years, serving as a model around the world. Dismantling NEPA should be of great concern to all of us.
Right now, the Task Force has more than $200,000 critical dollars of grant money in limbo; money that would be used for restoration projects that have been planned and strategically identified as part of the long term vision for a healthier river corridor. The planned restoration work includes 12 projects that will address ecological degradation along 39 miles of the mainstem Upper Gallatin River. Anticipated benefits range from improved water quality, to enhanced habitats for fish and wildlife, increased ability to withstand flooding and drought conditions, and sustainable river access. Like dozens of other local nonprofits, we’re waiting on thousands of dollars, putting our vital work at risk. As we wait for federal funding, the future of this work is threatened, and years of progress are at risk.
The unfortunate common thread here is that there are damaging changes in motion, threats to our environment and natural resources, community health, and to the agencies and people that manage our recreation spaces. This puts a spotlight on a deep disconnect between the laws and the lawmakers, the public lands and waters and the elected officials who manage them, and those making decisions for the ecosystems and the economy that they support.
The current state of affairs is fragile, and moving quickly, and it is up to us to be the force that impacts the course of the outcome. Contact your U.S. legislators, Sen. Steve Daines, Sen. Tim Sheehy, Rep. Ryan Zinke, Rep. Troy Downing and your Montana legislators; let them know that the layoffs are critically misguided, that the limbo of funding will reverse the course of improvements to our river habitats, and that the laws that protect our environment are imperative if we are to see our landscapes move forward, and not back.
Marne Hayes is a content contributor with the Gallatin River Task Force.
