Amid federal cuts, U.S. Forest Service cuts office hours at Sawtooth field offices in Idaho
The Sawtooth National Recreation Area is home to more than 300 high-elevation mountain lakes, including this unnamed lake at the base of Thompson Peak. (Clark Corbin/Idaho Capital Sun)
Following a series of cuts pushed by President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, the U.S. Forest Service announced Friday that it is cutting back hours at several Sawtooth National Forest field offices.
As part of the announcement, U.S. Forest Service officials said they are temporarily closing the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, or SNRA, offices in Ketchum and Stanley – effective immediately – until June 16.
'The SNRA is one of the crown jewels of the national forest system and one of the crown jewels of Idaho,' Josh Johnson, central Idaho director for the Idaho Conservation League, said in a phone interview Friday. 'To not have Forest Service staff available to support visitors, help them find out where they need to go, answer questions and respond to other issues is a problem and unfortunate.'
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
'You can't expect to eliminate as much forest service staff as you have and still provide essential services people are used to seeing in places like the SNRA,' Johnson added.
Forest Service officials made the announcement in a press release Friday afternoon, just hours before the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend that signals the unofficial beginning of the summer camping and recreation season in Idaho.
'The announcement comes as forest leadership works to provide the best service possible with the staffing and resources we have,' U.S. Forest Service officials said in Friday's news release.
Since he took office in January, Trump and his ally Musk have pushed for deep budget cuts and firing thousands of federal workers through the new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
U.S. Forest Service workers have been among those fired, and in February, former U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore resigned amid the cuts, WyoFile reported.
CONTACT US
Scaling back Sawtooth National Forest Service office hours could have widespread effects in Idaho – a state where more than 60% of the land is public land and recreation use and activities is at historic high levels.
'The bottom line is that the current administration's efforts to save money and increase efficiencies has led to serious inefficiencies on the ground,' John Robison, public lands and wildlife director for the Idaho Conservation League, said Friday. 'The administration's understaffing the SNRA to the point they will only be open three days a week is a significant disservice for all of us who love the SNRA.'
In a Friday's press release, Forest Service officials said visitors who need help when the offices are closed will have to call and leave a message.
'Stakeholders requiring assistance from these offices outside of the listed hours should call and leave phone messages at the office from which they require services,' Forest Service officials said in Friday's press release. 'Forest staff in these offices will follow-up on all calls and messages at their earliest convenience.'
Acting Sawtooth National Forest Supervisor Shawn Robnett said the staff members the agency does have are trying to find the best way to do their jobs.
'Adjusting our office hours as we enter our busiest season allows our rangers some flexibility with their available staff to continue to carry out all aspects of our mission – caring for the land while serving people,' Robnett said in a written statement. 'Ensuring our employees are still out in the field accomplishing their work also affords our employees the opportunity to meet stakeholders where they are – out on the forest.'
Efforts to reach a Sawtooth National Forest public affairs officer for follow up information were unsuccessful Friday.
The following field office hours are in place effective immediately.
Fairfield Ranger District: Open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays and Fridays.
Minidoka Ranger District: Open 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesday, and Thursdays.
Sawtooth National Recreation Area offices in Ketchum and Stanley: Temporarily closed until June 16. Both offices are scheduled to reopen three days a week from June 16 to Labor Day.
Once the office hours for reopening the Stanley and Ketchum field offices are available, they will be posted online, officials said.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
27 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Trump's Military Parade Has Washington Bracing for Tanks and Weaponry
Trains are arriving in Maryland this week loaded with military tanks that traveled more than 1,500 miles from Fort Cavazos, Texas. Flatbed trucks will haul them to Washington, DC, for the Army's 250th anniversary celebration on June 14, which falls on the same day as President Donald Trump's 79th birthday. More than two dozen M1 Abrams tanks — each weighing more than 60 tons — are slated to parade down Constitution Avenue near the White House in a procession that until recently was not part of the Army's programming. They'll be accompanied by scores of infantry fighting vehicles and heavy artillery weaponry, plus some 6,600 soldiers as helicopters fly overhead.
Associated Press
33 minutes ago
- Associated Press
One year from World Cup opener, FIFA leaves questions unanswered on tickets and security
NEW YORK (AP) — A year from the largest World Cup ever, there has been no announcement on general ticket sales, prices for most seats, location of a draw or security arrangements as FIFA has mostly avoided disclosing details of an event set for 16 stadiums across the United States, Mexico and Canada. There is uncertainty about whether fans from some nations will be welcome — 11 of the venues are located in the U.S., where all matches will be played from the quarterfinals on. Security is a concern, too. At the last major soccer tournament in the U.S., the 2024 Copa America final at Miami Gardens, Florida, started 82 minutes late after spectators breached security gates. 'That was certainly a reminder and a wake-up call if anybody needed it that those types of things are going to be used in terms of the ultimate assessment of whether this World Cup is successful,' said former U.S. defender Alexi Lalas, now Fox's lead soccer analyst. U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban on citizens from 12 nations exempted athletes, coaches, staff and relatives while not mentioning fans. Vice President JD Vance made what could be interpreted as a warning on May 6. 'Of course everybody is welcome to come and see this incredible event. I know we'll have visitors probably from close to 100 countries. We want them to come. We want them to celebrate. We want them to watch the game,' he said. 'But when the time is up they'll have to go home. Otherwise they'll have to talk to Secretary Noem,' he added, speaking alongside Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. Back in U.S. for first time in 32 years The 1994 World Cup sparked the launch of Major League Soccer with 12 teams in 1996, and $50 million in World Cup profits seeded the U.S. Soccer Foundation, tasked with developing the sport's growth. MLS now has 30 teams, plays in 22 soccer specific stadiums and has club academies to grow the sport and improve talent. Next year's tournament will include 104 games, up from 64 from 1998 through 2022, and the 11 U.S. stadiums are all NFL homes with lucrative luxury suites and club seating. It also will be the first World Cup run by FIFA without a local organizing committee. 'The legacy initiative of 2026 is around how we ensure that soccer is everywhere in this county,' U.S. Soccer Federation CEO JT Batson said. 'How do we ensure that every American can walk, ride their bike or take public transit to a safe place to play soccer? How do we make it to where every school in America has soccer accessible to their students? And how do we make it to wherever every American can truly see themselves in the game?' Interest in soccer has vastly increased in the U.S., with England's Premier League averaging 510,000 viewers per match window on NBC's networks last season and the European Champions League final drawing more than 2 million viewers in each of the past five years on CBS. However, CBS broadcast just 26 of 189 Champions League matches on TV in 2024-25 and streamed the rest. MLS drew about 12.2 million fans last year, second to 14.7 million in 2023-24 for the Premier League's 20 teams, but MLS has largely disappeared from broadcast TV since starting a 10-year contract with Apple TV+ in 2023. Apple spokesman Sam Citron said the company does not release viewer figures. In a fractured television landscape, different deals were negotiated by FIFA, UEFA, MLS, the NWSL, the USSF and the five major European leagues. 'You basically have over 2,800 game windows per season aired in the United States and so that requires distribution largely on streaming platforms like Paramount+ or ESPN+, but it's difficult for new fan adoption and it makes reach kind of challenging,' said Gerry Cardinale, managing partner of RedBird Capital Partners, which holds controlling interests in AC Milan and Toulouse and owns a non-controlling stake of Fenway Sports Group, parent of Liverpool. 'Kids today are getting weaned on Premier League football and Serie A football, and when you watch that as a product, it's hard for MLS to compete.' 1994 World Cup set attendance record The 1994 World Cup, a 24-nation tournament, drew a record 3.58 million fans for 52 matches. Ticket prices ranged from $25-$75 for most first round games and $180-$475 for the final at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. FIFA, which has about 800 people working at an office in Coral Gables, Florida, says it will announce information on general tickets in the third quarter. It wouldn't say whether prices will be fixed or variable. Hospitality packages are available on FIFA's website through On Location. For the eight matches at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, including the final on July 19, prices range from $25,800 to $73,200 per person. Variable ticket pricing possible FIFA appears to be using variable pricing for this year's Club World Cup, played at 12 U.S. stadiums from June 14 to July 13, and some prices repeatedly have been slashed. Marriott Bonvoy, a U.S. Soccer Federation partner, has been offering free tickets to some of its elite members. Asked about Club World Cup ticket sales and team base camp arrangements, Manolo Zubiria, the World Cup's chief tournament officer, hung up four minutes and five questions into a telephone interview with The Associated Press. Brendan O'Connell, the publicist who arranged the interview, wrote in an email to the AP: 'The guest was not prepared for those questions.' FIFA's media relations staff would not make FIFA president Gianni Infantino available to discuss the tournament. Ahead of the 1994 World Cup, FIFA announced in May 1992 the draw would take place at Las Vegas on Dec. 18 or 19, 1993. FIFA has not revealed plans for this year's draw but appears to be planning for Las Vegas on Dec. 5. Regular ticket sales began in February 1993 for the U.S. soccer family and general first- and second-round sales started that June. Fans submitted lottery applications in October 1993 for games from the quarterfinals on. Teams could train away from World Cup cities While not detailing ticketing plans for next year's tournament, FIFA is spreading it beyond the host cites and lists about 60 possible base camps for teams to use, paired with hotels. Some are fancy — The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia — and some more Spartan — the Courtyard by Marriott Mesa at Wrigleyville West in Arizona. Thousands of arrangements must be coordinated. Major League Baseball is drawing up its schedule to ensure that the four teams whose ballparks share parking lots with World Cup stadiums — in Arlington, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; Philadelphia; and Seattle — won't play home games on the dates of tournament matches. Boris Gartner, CEO of La Liga North America, a joint venture of the Spanish soccer league and Relevent Sports, said the 2026 World Cup should be viewed as just another step in the sport's long-term growth in the United States. 'If you have a clear understanding of the market and the audience, a clear understanding of the value that these properties bring to media companies, and you mix content with a commercial strategy, with the right media distribution strategy, this is something that will continue to grow over the next two decades,' he said. 'If more people are watching the NWSL, more people are going to be interested in soccer that could potentially end up watching a Bundesliga game or La Liga game.' ___ AP soccer:
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Trump's FAA Nominee Says Air Traffic Needs ‘Significant' Investment
President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Federal Aviation Administration plans to tell lawmakers that the US air traffic control system needs a 'significant' influx of cash, according to prepared written remarks seen by Bloomberg. Bryan Bedford, the nominee for the job of FAA administrator, said that prior to accepting the nomination, he asked Trump if he could meet with the agency's senior team. 'During that meeting, they expressed serious concerns with outmoded, analog telecommunications technology, obsolete facilities, and the chronic staffing challenges at our air traffic control centers,' he said, according to written testimony ahead of a confirmation hearing Wednesday before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
