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‘Deferred resignations’ prompt Idaho national forest to close ranger stations

By Nicole Blanchard Idaho Statesman

BOISE – An Idaho national forest announced Tuesday that it will temporarily shutter some of its district ranger stations due to short-staffing, the second forest to do so in recent weeks after deep cuts to the U.S. Forest Service earlier this year.

Officials with the Payette National Forest said in a news release that it will temporarily close its McCall, New Meadows and Weiser ranger district offices until further notice. Only the Council Ranger District Office and the forest headquarters in McCall will remain open.

Ranger stations provide visitors with permits, maps and information about forest conditions and recreational opportunities. The news release said the closures are the result of “losses in personnel through retirements and deferred resignations.” President Donald Trump’s administration in February announced a “Fork in the Road” offer to millions of federal workers for pay and benefits through September in exchange for immediate resignation.

The Forest Service also lost as many as 3,400 workers earlier this year to firings from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, Service or DOGE, USA Today reported. Among those were Payette National Forest employees. Officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Forest Service, have repeatedly declined to clarify how many workers were fired from Idaho jobs at the agency.

A spokesperson for the Payette National Forest told the Idaho Statesman inquiries about whether those cuts contributed to the staffing issues and office closures would need to be directed to the USDA. USDA officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Payette office closures came a little more than a week after the Sawtooth National Forest announced it would temporarily shutter the Sawtooth National Recreation Area headquarters in Ketchum and the Stanley ranger station because of staffing shortages. Forest officials said the offices will reopen in mid-June on a limited basis.