Anna Tollfeldt learned the federal government fired her on Feb. 16. She worked full-time seasonally for the Wrangell District as a biological technician in fisheries.
“I’m a little fired up, because looks like Wrangell might be losing several employees at the Forest Service here,” she said.
She is one of the seven Forest Service workers who the U.S. government fired in Wrangell recently since President Donald Trump took office. One actually was rescinded, so that person got their job back. They served the almost 17 million acre Tongass National Forest. These firings include just a few of the thousands of federal employees who the government fired recently and the union representing them is doing everything it can to reverse the terminations.
Tollfeldt said these federal layoffs have a huge impact on people’s lives and their families. She said she’s been working towards establishing her career for a long time and she put down roots in Wrangell with her partner.
“Wrangell is a pretty small community. There’s only so many jobs here that can support enough so that we can afford to live here,” she said. “We’re homeowners. That feels like it might not continue if things go the direction that I feel like it’s going.”
She said this will also have a huge effect on Wrangell’s tourism industry, especially at the Anan Wildlife Observatory. It’s about a half-hour boat ride south of Wrangell. Visitors hike in from the coast along a roaring river where they can view bears fishing for salmon up close. Forest Service employees help manage the whole area and at least one full time Anan employee was fired as well.
“One of my concerns is safety,” Tollfeldt said.
About 2,400 visitors come to the wildlife observatory each year. Most leave from Wrangell by boat and some by plane. Without Forest Service employees to manage the area and ensure safety, it’s possible some tourists won’t visit Wrangell at all.
Termination letters state poor performance
Tollfeldt’s termination letter said she’s being fired because of her performance. It states: “The Agency finds, based on your performance, that you have not demonstrated your further employment at the Agency would be in the public interest.” But Tollfeldt said that’s not true.
“As an employee who has been there for just under two years, I personally have only received good performance evaluations,” she said.
KSTK and other media outlets in the region have had limited response from the federal agency. Regional staff said they can’t talk. The Tongass’s public information office has sent all media inquiries to a U.S. Department of Agriculture office in D.C. That office has sent the same email response out and doesn’t want it attached to a name. It stated that the department is confident that those terminated can find other work opportunities outside of the government.
‘I don’t know how they can have the nerve to say something like that’
Cody Anderson takes offense to that government response. He used to be a National Environmental Protection Act specialist and wilderness manager for the Wrangell District, but was recently fired from his position.
He said there’s no way for the U.S. government to be confident about the future of the employees they terminated.
“There’s no way to make sure that all those…there are people with families and mortgages, and luckily, I don’t have those things,” Anderson said. “But I don’t know how they can have the nerve to say something like that, when they don’t know.”
He started his job six months ago in Wrangell, relocating from Oregon. He said his district manager gave him great reviews but now he has to leave.
“I can’t afford to sit and just wait around while it sits in litigation,” Anderson said. “So I’m gonna have to go and find other employment elsewhere and probably fill in for some outdoor education jobs that I used to have.”
Keeping tabs on the Tongass firings is Matt Brossard. He is the vice president of a union that represents government workers – the National Federation of Federal Employees.
Union hopes to halt terminations
He said those terminated and current employees have been blocked from accessing government data, including their own electronic personnel folder. The folder has the entire history of every document created by human resources for each employee.
Brossard said, “I personally, and the Forest Service Council – the umbrella union for the Forest Service, they’re represented by a council – think it’s because they don’t want people to have access to the documents that will defend themselves.”
He said the union, along with other unions, filed a temporary order in a D.C. court on Friday, hoping to stop the removal of probationary employees. At least, temporarily. He said they hope to get a response from the court soon.
Brossard said, “Everyone that has been served these notices would essentially go back to work until the administration and the DOGE, whoever they are, figure out a different avenue to try and terminate all these employees.”
He said the terminations will also have a huge effect on the local economies, including a rise in mental health issues.
‘What does that do to somebody’s mental health’
He said a lot of the employees in the lower pay scale positions live paycheck to paycheck and now they’re really not going to have security and stability.
“These people are being terminated and they’re not going to be able to afford to live,” Brossard said. “So what does that do to somebody’s mental health, as well as these small communities? There’s not a whole lot of resources.”
Brossard encourages people to hang in there and monitor the communications coming out from the union. He said they’re doing everything they can to support and defend public employees.
