U.S. Department of Agriculture budget cuts for the upcoming fiscal year have put seasonal jobs with the U.S. Forest Service on the chopping block, resulting in few job opportunities for those looking for employment in the Deschutes and Ochoco national forests.

Trail building, archaeological work, visitor services and campground maintenance are a few of the seasonal jobs impacted by the cuts.

The Forest Service’s budget remains uncertain due to elections and changes in government, preventing Congress from deciding on a fiscal year budget for 2025. Until a budget is confirmed, the agency is positioning itself for conservative spending, which means an employment freeze on temporary workers.

Forest Service Chief Randy Moore announced the hiring freeze on so-called 1039 employees in a September call with Forest Service staff.

Freeze impacts

These employees are known as “1039s” because they work less than 1,039 hours per year, or less than six months. The classification allows the government to avoid paying benefits.

Nationwide, the Forest Service employed around 2,500 non-fire, temporary employees in 2024, according to Alan Abernethy, a spokesperson with the Forest Service’s national press team. Dozens of these were local hires in Central Oregon.

In the Ochoco National Forest this year, 21 non-fire seasonal employees are impacted by the hiring freeze, said Isabella Isaksen, a public affairs officer for the Forest Service.

These employees “conducted a variety of surveys to support planning projects. These included work like wildlife surveys, plant surveys, cultural resource surveys, stream surveys, tree stocking surveys, and pre-sale timber marking,” she said.

Moore hinted at the Forest Service’s financial constraints in August when he wrote in a blog post that the agency had a “potentially budget-limited future.”

He highlighted a few of the budget challenges, including the end of supplemental funding from the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Recent cost of living increases for employees have gone up 10%, he said.

The Forest Service had a budget of around $6 billion for 2024, with another $2.3 billion available for wildfire suppression, for a total of $8.3 billion.

The belt-tightening planned for next year will not impact wildland firefighters.

“We will continue with hiring our core temporary firefighting force of 11,300 for the coming fire year,” said Kristin Carver, a public affairs specialist with the Forest Service. “We understand that this will have an impact that will reverberate across all national forests.”

Temporary jobs converted

The job cuts hit hard for families that rely on this seasonal work, but the agency highlights that over the past two years, around 1,300 temporary employees were converted to permanent jobs.

Locally, the hiring freeze will mean fewer people to do a lot of the boots-on-the-ground work in the Deschutes and Ochoco national forests. Trail maintenance, bathroom and campground cleaning, emptying of trash cans and ecosystem surveys are a few of the tasks likely to be impacted.

“Seasonal employees in forestry help, among other duties, to prevent wildfires, tree diseases and invasive species while enhancing wildlife habitat and public recreation,” said Jon McMillan, director of communications and community engagement for the Forest Service, Pacific Northwest region.

“This work contributes to protecting forests, wildlife and public enjoyment of natural resources,” he said.

But exactly how this lack of funding and hiring will end up impacting national forests in Oregon during the months ahead remains uncertain. The Forest Service is “going through the process” of looking at how the change will be applied on the ground, McMillan said.