Heinrich alleges Trump administration aims to move public lands into private hands

By Hannah Grover

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, a New Mexico Democrat, painted a bleak picture for the future of public lands during a roundtable discussion Wednesday evening.

Heinrich alleged laying off staff in public lands management positions is part of an effort to claim lands are being mismanaged in order to justify transferring the federal lands to states. He said once the federal lands are in state control, they could be sold off to private interests, which has happened with state trust lands in some areas.

“The place you took your kids trout fishing on your summer vacation will be somebody’s trophy ranch,” he said. “The meadows and aspen stands you used to bow hunt in will be behind a no trespassing sign.”

The senator’s claims come as Utah, a Republican-dominated state, challenged federal ownership of public lands in court. Top government officials, including President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, have also talked about using public lands to address housing shortages.

Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk, laid off thousands of public lands employees in February and plans to shutter buildings, including eight National Park Service visitor centers.

The cuts in staff could impact the ability of national parks to meet the tourism season demands and could create challenges in emergency response, trail maintenance and ecosystem health. These cuts will also have economic impacts for surrounding communities. 

Carlsbad Caverns National Park temporarily suspending ranger-guided tours is one example of the impacts of staffing shortages in New Mexico .

Those who were terminated were often important parts of the staff, including the only plumber at Mount Rainier National Park.

Lydia Jones, who worked at Badlands National Park in South Dakota, was one of three people on staff who were licensed emergency medical technicians. She was among the people laid off and the letter she received claimed she wasn’t qualified for the job.

“There were times when I was the only EMT on staff,” she said during the roundtable discussion.

Having an EMT available is important in the rugged terrain where people often suffer falls or heat-related illness.

“The American people deserve to have an enjoyable and most of all safe experience on their public lands. And I see that currently being eroded,” Jones said.

Sen. Angus King Jr., I-Maine, described the letter Jones received as outrageous and “clearly made up.”

“This was a blanket butchering of employees who are hired to sustain the agencies into the future,” Bailey Langley, a former Umatilla National Forest employee who was among the people laid off by the U.S. Forest Service, said. 

She said the national forests play critical roles in supporting ranching as well as providing opportunities for people to gather foods such as huckleberries.

Those layoffs can have a domino effect for people like Nick Streit, who runs a flyfishing business in Taos. He said there is now only one person overseeing permitting in the Carson National Forest, where he goes to get the outfitting permits for his business. Now Streit is concerned it could be harder for him to secure the permits necessary to operate on federal lands.

“Without being able to have folks at the Forest Service to execute those permits. I don’t know where that puts us. I don’t know where that puts me, to be completely honest,” Streit said.

He said if he can’t offer tours on federal lands, he will be out of business and his guides and staff will be out of work.