A thousand people walked along the Clark Fork River in Missoula over the weekend to rally support for public lands. It was also a protest of the Trump administration's cuts to staff at federal land management agencies.
The former head of the Bureau of Land Management Tracy Stone-Manning stood in front of the crowd.
"Raise your hand if you are a federal land manager. They are serving us. They are serving you," she told the crowd.
Hundreds of hands went up in response to Stone-Manning’s question. She’s a Missoulian who ran the Bureau of Land Management under the Biden Administration. She’s now the president of the Wilderness Society.
Stone-Manning pointed out the public lands encircling the Missoula Valley as she spoke and criticized the Trump Administration’s assertions that recent cuts are made for government efficiency.
"As they gut these agencies, they're going to say, oh my gosh, we can't manage these public lands. We have to sell ‘em off. My friends, this is what this is about," she said.
Federal workers across land management agencies have faced uncertainty from mass layoffs, executive orders, and memos carried out by the Trump Administration in recent weeks.
Politico late last week reported that the Forest Service plans to lay off another 7,000 workers in the coming months.
