Trump administration seeks to cut nearly 200 Colorado jobs at federal public land, science agencies

The Trump administration is seeking to lay off nearly Coloradans who work for the Department of the Interior managing populace lands and conducting ecological research The planned cuts were outlined in a filing made populace Monday in an ongoing federal court scenario stemming from a lawsuit by two labor unions seeking to halt the layoffs In total the department plans to eliminate more than jobs across the Bureau of Land Management the National Park Institution the Bureau of Reclamation the Fish and Wildlife Operation the U S Geological Survey and the department s administrative offices In Colorado the proposed cuts include of the positions in the Bureau of Land Management s National Operations Center in Denver of the positions in the BLM Colorado office of the positions at the National Park Function Denver Utility Center of the positions at the U S Geological Survey s Fort Collins Science Center The layoffs are blocked by a judge s order but the incident is scheduled for a hearing in U S District Court for the Northern District of California on Oct Related Articles National Renewable Vitality Laboratory lays off employees in Golden Trump rollback of rule for society lands including square miles in Colorado would reduce conservation role Forest Amenity cuts exacerbate wildfire threats in Colorado fire authorities say We re decreasing our ability to respond The department s chief human capital officer in a court filing declared the layoffs were not connected to the current executive shutdown The planned layoffs drew criticism from Colorado s Democratic delegation in Washington as well as conservation groups The Trump administration s unlawful and politically motivated attacks on workers at our land management agencies the NPS BLM USGS and elsewhere will inflict direct harm on both these civil servants and all Coloradans who treasure our lands and water Rep Joe Neguse a Democrat representing Colorado s nd Congressional District commented in a message It is shameful Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter