On February 14, Adin Kloetzel lost his job as a trails forestry technician at the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in southwest Montana, where he hauled supplies into remote areas by mule, cut trails, and supported firefighting efforts.

Like many of 3,400 Forest Service employees abruptly fired by the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Kloetzel landed a permanent job offer last spring that came with a yearlong “probationary” period, giving him fewer job protections. Since he lives in Forest Service housing, he also lost his housing. Altogether, around a quarter of the ranger district’s employees were fired. “It’s a bitter pill to swallow,” he says.

But Kloetzel is worried about more than just his career. He fears the cuts to the Forest Service will prevent the agency from properly managing national forests and wildfire threats — and potentially be used as justification to transfer federal management to the states, opening the door to privatizing public lands and services.