{"id":23290,"date":"2025-03-04T19:42:09","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T02:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dozens-show-support-for-federal-workers-in-southwest-colorado\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:33:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:33:03","slug":"dozens-show-support-for-federal-workers-in-southwest-colorado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dozens-show-support-for-federal-workers-in-southwest-colorado\/","title":{"rendered":"Dozens show support for federal workers in Southwest Colorado"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Community
Community members gather at the entrance of Mesa Verde National Park on Saturday, March 1, to stand in solidarity with park rangers. Nationwide, people demonstrated at parks near them at 12 p.m. that day. (Aaron Lewis\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Dozens of people gathered Saturday and Monday in Montezuma County to stand in solidarity with federal workers.<\/p>\n

The first event was at Mesa Verde National Park on Saturday, March 1.<\/p>\n

That demonstration was a nationwide one, organized by a group called the Resistance Rangers. People gathered at the entrances of nearby national parks with signs at noon to illustrate their support of the parks, public lands and parks service workers.<\/p>\n

There were protests at at least 145 sites that day, according to The New York Times.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Dozens
Dozens of community members gathered at the entrance of Mesa Verde National Park at 12 p.m. on Saturday, March 1, to stand in solidarity with federal workers, namely those in the parks service. (Aaron Lewis\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Two days later, on Monday, March 3, community members headed to the Tres Rios Field Office in Dolores, where the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service employees are housed.<\/p>\n

Two like events were simultaneously happening in Bayfield and Durango to support Forest Service and BLM workers.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst were the illegal firings of probationary workers across all federal departments,\u201d said an employee at Tres Rios who asked not to be named. \u201cThe next cuts will be a formal reduction of the force, and that\u2019s TBD.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just want people to realize what we do,\u201d they said. \u201cThe public would lose a lot if they lost us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Amber
Amber Clark, the executive director of the Dolores River Boating Advocates, speaks to the group that gathered at the Tres Rios Field Office in Dolores on Monday, March 3, to stand in solidarity with Forest Service and BLM workers. (Matthew Tangeman\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

They went on to express their \u201cconcern\u201d for their job.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems like anything could happen to any one of us,\u201d they said. \u201cI\u2019m nervous.\u201d<\/p>\n

As more people filed into the entrance area of the Tres Rios office on Monday afternoon, the space became crowded and demonstrators were directed to a larger conference room where they continued conversation.<\/p>\n

Amber Clark, the executive director of the Dolores River Boating Advocates, thanked everyone for being there and thanked the workers taking care of our public lands.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a hard few weeks for the folks who work for these agencies,\u201d said Clark.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe public lands need you, we need you,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Community
Community members demonstrate with signs at the entrance of Mesa Verde National Park on Saturday, March 1 at 12 p.m. to show their support for park rangers and public lands workers. (Aaron Lewis\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A former parks service firefighter spoke up and called the federal cuts \u201creprehensible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think about the friends I\u2019ve lost, the bodies I\u2019ve recovered,\u201d he said. \u201cWorking for the feds, you put your time, body and soul into the job. I\u2019m horrified they\u2019d attack us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNone of us did this work to get rich,\u201d another former federal worker chimed in. \u201cWe do it because we love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear how many federal cuts have happened to agencies in this area. To gauge local impact, a demonstrator on Monday asked people to raise their hand if they know someone who\u2019s lost their job.<\/p>\n

Of the roughly 50 people there, 10 people raised their hands.<\/p>\n

Ryan Schroeder, a former BLM rangeland management specialist, had his \"dream job\u201c for fewer than 60 days. He attended and spoke out at the March 3 gathering in support of Forest Service and BLM workers at the Tres Rios Field Office in Dolores. (Matthew Tangeman\/Special to The Journal)
Ryan Schroeder, a former BLM rangeland management specialist, had his \"dream job\u201c for fewer than 60 days. He attended and spoke out at the March 3 gathering in support of Forest Service and BLM workers at the Tres Rios Field Office in Dolores. (Matthew Tangeman\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cI had an hour to empty my office here,\u201d said Ryan Schroeder, a former BLM rangeland management specialist who was fired on Feb. 18.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t do good work if people are gone, scared for their jobs, or locked out of systems,\u201d he said. \u201cI worry for every one of my coworkers thinking, \u2018When is it my turn?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

A Colorado Sun article published on Feb. 14 <\/a>said that nationwide, there were \u201c3,400 layoffs at the Forest Service and about 2,300 from the Interior Department\u2019s National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ten days later, on Feb. 24, the Sun wrote<\/a> that the Trump administration is restoring some of those jobs, and will allow for additional seasonal hires.<\/p>\n

But no later than March 13, agencies \u2013 like the Forest Service, BLM and Parks Service \u2013 must develop and submit \u201cAgency Reorganization Plans\u201d to make further cuts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe federal government is costly, inefficient, and deeply in debt. At the same time, it is not producing results for the American public,\u201d the memorandum that directors from the U.S. Offices of Management and Budget and Personnel Management sent to department heads on Feb. 26.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not the end of these cuts,\u201d said Schroeder.<\/p>\n