WTA visits D.C. to urge rehiring of Forest and Park service staff

March 12, 2025 update: Thank you to over 7,400 individuals who took action towards reinstating fired Forest Service and National Park Service employees, sending over 22,000 messages to members of Congress. WTA’s Michael DeCramer reports having productive conversations on this topic with members of Congress and other national leaders when he visited D.C. Your messages bolstered these important discussions.

Our representatives acted quickly, and 10 members of Washington state’s Congressional delegation sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary explaining the importance of Forest Service employees to our state. While those firings have been overruled for 45 days, there is more work to be done to reinstate fired workers and provide robust funding for public lands. WTA will continue working to protect federal lands and ensuring there are trails for everyone. We appreciate your support every step of the way.

This week, WTA’s policy and planning manager Michael DeCramer is trading in his hiking boots for a suit and traveling to Washington, D.C. Along with partners, one of the key issues he’ll be discussing is the recent firing of thousands of U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service employees. Michael will be speaking to our state’s delegation and bringing the message of thousands of hikers who have asked for those firings to be reversed.

Michael DeCramer, WTA's policy and planning manager, visits Washington, D.C. to advocate for trails funding as part of Hike the Hill in 2024.

Nearly two-thirds of our state’s public lands are federally-managed (think national parks, national forests, etc.), so decisions made in D.C. affect our ability to get outdoors here in Washington.

Michael’s visit is part of Hike the Hill, a national event organized by the American Hiking Society and Partnership for the National Trails System, to bring together the trails community to advance shared recreation priorities with national leaders.

• In the news
• Read our opinion piece about Forest Service and Park Service staffing, written with The Mountaineers, in the Seattle Times. 

Members of Congress and our country face many pressing issues right now. With that in mind, WTA is speaking with lawmakers at the national level to ensure they hear the concerns from hikers like you about trails and public lands. We want you, and everyone, to enjoy the benefits of nature. With that clear focus, the partnership of like-minded organizations and the help of hikers like you, we can make real changes that protect outdoor places.

Already thousands of hikers have emailed asking for workers to be re-instated for critical jobs at the Forest Service and National Park Service. Every email makes a difference, and Michael will be talking to Washington's members of Congress on your behalf about how critical this issue is.

An opportunity to support public lands for years to come

While many critical issues face advocates for public lands, one area where we can make a big impact right now is encouraging renewal of the Legacy Restoration Fund, which was created by the Great American Outdoor Act (GAOA). 

Hikers joined with WTA and voices across the country to help pass GAOA in 2020, with strong bipartisan support in Congress. GAOA was a nearly unprecedented act of support for our public lands. It invested up to $1.9 billion annually to improve infrastructure, expand recreation opportunities and better protect our country’s outdoor places (those managed by the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management). 

Each year since it was passed, GAOA funding has been fixing maintenance issues and making it easier and safer for you to get outside. This includes projects to repair roads so you can get to the trailhead and improving trails so you can be safe when you hike. It also includes installing bathrooms, upgrading campgrounds and making recreation sites ADA-accessible so that more people can connect with the outdoors.

The Great American Outdoor Act funds projects that improve hiker safety and protection of natural resources, like this trail project on the Lake Annette Trail. Photo courtesy of Mountains to Sound Greenway.

An important portion of GAOA, the Legacy Restoration Fund, expires this year. Yet, there remains an estimated $38 billion of deferred maintenance projects on our federal public lands. 

If you want to help protect our public lands for the future, you can do two things:

• First, urge your lawmakers to overturn the firings of Forest Service and National Parks staff. It's essential they hear from you right now.
• Then, go add your name to WTA's petition to renew the Legacy Restoration Fund for 8 more years.

YOU ARE PART OF THIS

Michael looks forward to bringing your voice to our leaders in Washington, D.C. this week. His favorite part of talking with members of Congress is sharing the passion of WTA’s hiking community, and how that passion translates into tangible benefits for the outdoors. 

Last year, you contributed 127,144 hours of volunteer trail maintenance across our state’s public lands. When you add your name to a petition or register for a trail work party, you are part of WTA’s mission of trails for everyone, forever.