Close to 40 people were gathered together at the north side of Wrangell, next to the Stikine Inn. The held handmade signs, wearing warm outer layers and filling the cold air with chatter on Friday’s cold evening.
One sign said “We Support Our USFS Workers. Thank you for all you do.”
Just a few hours before, the Wrangell Cooperative Association scheduled this walking event to show support for Forest Service employees of the Tongass National Forest — some of whom had just abruptly lost their jobs in the wake of the Trump administration’s mass firings of federal employees.
David Rak was one of the many waiting for the walk to happen. He worked for the Forest Service for about 45 years, until he retired. But he’s still close with the people who work at the government agency in Wrangell, especially since it’s a small community.
“In order for the Forest Service to be effective and do their job, they need good employees and laying off people who are good employees is not a good thing for the organization,” he said.
Tribal Administrator Esther Aaltséen Reese said the Forest Service is invaluable to the Wrangell community, which is why this walk is so important.
“They’re an amazing partner to us as the tribe,” she said. “They’re an integral part of the fabric of our community and we’re losing people that we work with on a day to day basis. Literally, the Wrangell community is going to suffer by losing these wonderful individuals.”
She said WCA and the Forest Service have collaborated with each other for decades and they worked hard to get to where they are now.
WCA says Wrangell District Forest Service is like family
They even had a federal tribal liaison and Reese said the liaison was one of the many who were laid off. It’s emotional, she told the crowd.
“I look at every one of your faces. I hope I don’t start crying,” Reese said. “You all are just so important to all of us and it really hurts to lose family members. And hopefully we can do all that we can to get this reversed.”
The group starts walking south on the sidewalk and talking with each other, heading towards Raymes Bar, about a half mile down. Some cars beep and a couple late comers join. Everyone with a sign holds them up.
‘A lot of this work…halted and complicated…chaotic communications and job cuts.’
Val Massie, a community planner for Spruce Root, joined in on the walk too. Spruce Root is a non profit organization that promotes economic development to people who reside in historically Southeast Alaska Indigenous communities.
She said the layoffs will also impact her collaboration with tribal members on the new Tongass National Forest revision plan. Now, everything is unknown.
“A lot of this work just got halted and complicated by all of these really chaotic communications and job cuts,” Massie said. “It’s really tough because we’ve made all this progress and people have come together to voice their values (on the revision plan).”
She said the person she’s been working with the most on this plan revision was let go for no clear reason.
Future discussions are in the works
The group stopped in the Raymes Bar parking lot and people took turns talking in a big circle. They said this is the first meeting to figure out how to create change. The group discussed how the layoffs will affect the schools, since the Forest Service has a deep presence in Wrangell’s education. They also said the layoffs will create economic impacts in not just Wrangell, but the entire Tongass National Forest.
Mad Hesler works in the tourism industry here and said thousands of people visit Wrangell every year. Many visit Anan Wildlife Observatory, a popular bear viewing spot in the Tongass National Forest that the Forest Service manages.
“If they can’t do that, they might cancel (their travel plans to Wrangell) and that’s huge on our economy for every single business here,” she said. “I think quite a few of us here work in the tourism industry and I do. I just can’t imagine how that would affect our economy long term.”
‘Well, I got canned today’
Cody Anderson, one of the first to get laid off, spoke up. He started his job six months ago, when he relocated here from Oregon. He was still in the probationary period, like many of the federal employees who just lost their jobs.
“Well, I got canned today, officially, but yesterday, pretty much,” he said. “I just want to say that you guys, this town has been just incredibly welcoming and has had open arms from everybody,”
He said the letter he received informed him he was being let go based on his performance. He was a National Environmental Protection Act specialist and wilderness manager for the Wrangell Ranger District.
“What they said is that in my letter of termination is that my performance was unsatisfactory when that’s just not the case,” Anderson said. “I have an email from my district supervisor saying that my performance was satisfactory.”
He said that he’s angry and confused.
Anderson said, “I think the anger is just a feeling of powerlessness.”
Anderson is now figuring out his next move and how he’ll support himself. He said he’ll probably go back to the Lower 48 where he can live with a friend. But first he’s going to buy a pricey ferry ticket to leave the island.
