FLORISSANT — In a coordinated nationwide rally on March 1, thousands turned up to national parks sites around the US to protest the recent firings of up to a thousand probationary workers with the National Parks Service (NPS) and thousands of Forest Service employees.
The rallies, organized by a group called Resistance Rangers, aimed to bring supporters out to all 433 national parks sites across the country. Resistance Rangers labels itself on its Instagram account as the official resistance account of NPS rangers "rallying to save public lands."
In Colorado, those who attended one such rally at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument estimated over 100 people came out.
“We felt we needed to show them some love and let them know that despite their firing and short-staffed parks, many, many people want to support our National Parks,” said Lisa Mussi, one of the people in attendance in Teller County.
Mussi said Florissant Fossil Beds lost at least one permanent position, which appeared to be the cause for a now-viral Facebook post the site made stating they had to shut down operations on Mondays and Tuesdays due to short staffing.
“When asked if volunteers could fill the gap, we were told that a staff member must be present at all times,” Mussi said in an email. “They also indicated that the person they lost also performed routine maintenance and upkeep in the park.”
Mussi pointed to economic data from the National Parks Service (NPS) highlighting how vital Florissant Fossil Beds is to the gateway communities of the area.
“In 2023, 63.7 thousand park visitors spent an estimated $4.3 million in local gateway regions while visiting Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument,” the NPS site said. “These expenditures supported a total of 55 jobs, $2.3 million in labor income, $3.8 million in value added, and $6.4 million in economic output in local gateway economies surrounding Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument.”
The Sierra Club Colorado also took part at the Florissant rally. In an event RSVP on the group’s website, they called it a demonstration and encouraged people to spread the word on social media. Sierra Club said about a dozen of their members were there on Saturday.
Mussi and Sierra Club Colorado said other attendees included former national parks volunteers, current Colorado Parks and Wildlife volunteers, current federal employees, and family members of federal workers.
“This will be a peaceful protest aimed mainly at showing our support for employees whose service and dedication protect our parks and make visitation possible,” the Sierra Club web page said. “We will obey all directions from Fossil Beds staff about where and how we can demonstrate.”
According to a public document and spreadsheet from the Resistance Rangers, other sites in Colorado that had protests and demonstrations on Saturday included Rocky Mountain National Park, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, and Colorado National Monument.
President Trump's administration and billionaire Elon Musk, through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), have been working to cut the federal workforce at a breakneck speed since Trump took office in January.
The probationary worker firings were announced in mid February and many were enacted a week later.
Many, like a fired Rocky Mountain National Park employee who spoke to KOAA last month, said the firings were justified by a boilerplate letter claiming poor work performance.
However, multiple lawsuits have been filed by union groups representing those fired, with a federal judge in San Francisco ruling last week that probationary firings are illegal and issued a temporary pause.
Email Senior Reporter Brett Forrest at brett.forrest@koaa.com. Follow @brettforrestTVon X and Brett Forrest News on Facebook.
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